Saving Gaspésie? “Not Like This,” Says The Supreme Court

To respond to demographic changes, Québec’s independent election commission proposed changes to the boundaries of certain electoral districts, which included combining two electoral districts from Gaspésie, a rural area where population is declining. Québec enacted legislation to bring this process to a halt. In Québec (Attorney General) v. Lalande¹, the Supreme Court struck down the legislation, holding that it unjustifiably infringed the right to vote in section 3 of the Charter. The decision provides insight into how courts review election laws under the Charter.

What you need to know

• Election legislation needs to be tailored. While courts do not want to meddle in the precise mechanics and details of drawing electoral maps, legislatures cannot adopt disproportionate measures. Here, the Supreme Court concluded that the Québec National Assembly could not interrupt re-drawing all Québec’s electoral divisions in order to preserve one electoral division.