Geography of Elections

Geography of Elections. Understanding ridings as electoral communities

At a glance

In this activity, students:

  • reflect on the different communities they belong to and then consider the idea of their electoral community
  • examine their own federal electoral district and compare it to at least one other, using maps and fact sheets
  • consolidate their learning by considering questions like which electoral community is easier to represent in Parliament

Big idea: Each federal electoral district has its own election. The community of voters chooses one candidate to represent the whole district in Parliament.

Subjects: This activity is designed for a geography, social studies, civics or citizenship class.

Level: Secondary

Time needed: 60 minutes

Last updated: February 2023

Additional information

There are currently 338 federal electoral districts in Canada. New electoral districts will come into effect at the next general election.

This activity includes 338 fact sheets, one for each district under the current electoral boundaries. Fact sheets for the 343 new electoral districts will be available in a future update. In the meantime, we recommend using our interactive map to view the current and future boundaries.