New federal electoral districts will come into effect at the next federal election. Now is a great time to explore with your students the geographic factors that go into redrawing electoral boundaries. Who determines our federal electoral districts? What makes an electoral district fair? These are some of the questions that students engage with in Mapping Electoral Districts.
In this activity, students learn that elections are place-based and land-based. They also learn that there is a fair and transparent process to make sure that our federal electoral districts continue to reflect the population over time. This process is called redistribution. Electoral boundaries are redrawn every 10 years by independent commissions in each province. Elections Canada supports this work with geographic expertise and mapping tools.
In Mapping Electoral Districts, students take on the role of commissioners to map electoral boundaries in an imaginary country. The goal is to make the electoral districts as fair as possible. Students analyze geographic factors, like population distribution, roads and mountains, as well as social factors, like culture and language, to make their decisions. Finally, they watch a video interview with an Elections Canada geographer to learn about redistribution in Canada. This activity can be used in a geography, world issues, social studies, civics or citizenship course to explore the concept of fairness in determining federal electoral boundaries.
Access or order Mapping Electoral Districts to bring this interactive lesson to your students.