Many Langley voters could go into the next federal election in new, re-shaped ridings, after the commission tasked with re-drawing electoral district boundaries delivered its final report to Parliament this week.
The report, tabled in the House of Commons on Wednesday, July 19, is part of a process done every 10 years to ensure that ridings are as close to equal as possible in terms of population.
For fast-growing areas like Langley, Surrey, and Abbotsford, that means significant changes in the boundaries.
Previously, most Langley residents were in one of two local ridings.
Langley-Aldergrove covered most of the Township of Langley, with the exception of a strip to the west of 200th Street north of Langley City, and also included a chunk of South Abbotsford.
Cloverdale-Langley City included the City, the strip of land west of 200th Street, and part of eastern Surrey.
The new proposed boundaries leave Cloverdale-Langley City mostly intact, with some changes to its northern edge, and the loss of the strip of the Township west of 200th.
But the ridings of Langley-Aldergrove, Abbotsford, and Fleetwood-Port Kells in Surrey have been significantly altered.
To the north is Langley Township-Fraser Heights, which includes all of north Langley, including Murrayville, Willoughby, Walnut Grove, and Fort Langley. It also includes a spur of land on the north side of highway one all the way to the Port Mann Bridge, which covers part of Port Kells and Fraserview in Surrey, as well as Barnston Island in the Fraser River.
To the south is Abbotsford-South Langley, which includes Brookswood and Fernridge, Aldergrove, and a large portion of urban Abbotsford, including all the area south of Maclure Road, with the eastern border formed by Sumas Way.
Neither Langley-area MP was fully pleased with the riding designs.
“It is sad to see that Langley Township will be split into northern and southern sections in the new riding redistribution,” said Langley-Aldergrove Conservative MP Tako Van Popta. “We knew it would happen because our population has grown so much since the last riding redistribution ten years ago.”
He noted Langley Township neighbourhoods are connected by natural boundaries, a shared municipality, and a strong sense of community.
“On a positive note, the western section of the Township, west side of 200th street between the city and the freeway, will be reunited with the Township,” Van Popta said.
“I would say that the final boundary reflects what we expected,” said Cloverdale-Langley City Liberal MP John Aldag. “We will lose all of the township, which is unfortunate, as well as pieces of Surrey due to population growth.”
He’d hoped to see more of Cloverdale included in the riding, with the boundary moving south to the railway line, but that was rejected by the boundary commission.
Aldag said he doesn’t expect the changes will benefit any one party over another.
The original proposal, presented last spring, also divided Langley into three ridings, but the northern riding, dubbed Pitt Meadows-Fort Langley extended across the Fraser River and included parts of five different cities – Langley, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and Port Coquitlam.
It was dubbed “a dog’s breakfast” by Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge MP Marc Dalton, and Van Popta suggested that it was “a bit of a surprise.”
The first proposed riding was also heavily criticized at public hearings last fall.
READ MORE: ‘Dog’s breakfast’ riding panned at public hearing
Although the new ridings re-shape a number of older districts, they don’t jump across as many municipal boundaries, and the Fraser River remains a firm local border between different ridings.
If the new electoral district plan is accepted by Parliament, these will be the ridings during the next federal election, which has to take place by Oct. 2025 at the latest.
At present, Liberal MP John Aldag represents the present Cloverdale-Langley City riding, Van Popta represents the Langley-Aldergrove riding, Conservative MP Ed Fast represents Abbotsford, and Liberal MP Ken Hardie represents Fleetwood-Port Kells.
Have a story tip? Email: matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com
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