Representation by Population and Quebec

Quebec is complaining about changes to the makeup of parliament that will reflect population growth in Ontario and the West by giving additional seats to these areas (17 to Ontario, 7 to BC and 5 to Alberta).   Today in the Globe and Mail  

Well, if you had wanted to fight this battle, you should have elected Conservatives and so had a say in government. You chose to be out of the loop and so you must bear your fate.

Unfortunately, seats cannot be taken away from regions of stagnant or declining population, so our parliament will simply have to grow and grow. Oh God!  If provinces and regions want to maintain or increase their presence in parliament, then they need to get their house in order and attract more people nor have more babies.

Look at the present situation. The government is simply adjusting things to make underrepresented provinces more fairly represented.

Province	Percent of National Population	Percent of Parliament	under/over representation
Ontario	38.7	34.4	under
Quebec	23.2	24.4	over
BC	13.3	11.7	under
Alberta	10.9	9.1	under
Manitoba	3.7	4.5	over
Saskatchewan	3.1	4.5	over
Nova Scotia	2.8	3.6	over
New Brunswick	2.3	3.2	over
Newfoundland	1.5	2.3	over
PEI	0.4	1.3	over

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_provinces_and_territories_by_population


And further ...  very interesting reading on population growth statistics from Statistics Canada:

Provincial and territorial projections

Ontario and British Columbia are the only provinces in which average annual growth would exceed the growth rate for Canada as a whole between 2009 and 2036, according to all scenarios.

Ontario's population would increase from nearly 13.1 million in 2009 to between 16.1 million and 19.4 million in 2036, depending on the scenario. Under the medium-growth scenario, it would account for 40.5% of the national population in 2036, up from 38.7% in 2009.

The population of British Columbia would increase from nearly 4.5 million in 2009 to between 5.8 million and 7.1 million in 2036. Under the medium-growth scenario, its share of Canada's total population would rise from 13.2% to 14.5%.

Quebec would remain the second most populous province. Its population would rise from 7.8 million in 2009 to between 8.6 million and 10.0 million in 2036.

Under the lowest-growth scenario, Newfoundland and Labrador's population would decline from 508,900 in 2009 to 483,400 in 2036. Under the highest-growth scenario, it would rise to 544,500.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/100526/dq100526b-eng.htm

So, what do slow growing regions propose? Do we punish faster growing regions by not allowing their political representation to reflect this?  Do we change the Senate to provide regional population or abolish it?
Very interesting dynamics at play here.   The NDP in BC approves of the changes.  Where does Smiling Jack stand?  Ah, such a balanced and delicate dance is required when you have a sizeable number of MPs from Quebec!


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