A majority of Nova Scotians support reinstating four “minority” ridings for Acadians and African Nova Scotians – eliminated in 2012 – according to a Corporate Research Associates (CRA) poll.
The ridings eliminated were Clare, Argyle, Richmond and Preston.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia Acadians win key court battle over French-speaking ridings
“Despite having substantially fewer voters than other ridings in the province, there is majority support in Nova Scotia for the re-instatement of the four minority ridings eliminated in the last electoral boundary review,” said CRA chairman and CEO Don Mills in a release.
According to the poll, six in 10 residents – 61 per cent – completely or mostly support the reinstatement of the ridings, while 23 per cent completely or mostly oppose the idea. One in six – 16 per cent – said they don’t know or have no opinion in the matter.
In the release by CRA, it said support was “consistent across the province” however it found higher support among women over men.
Earlier this year, a ruling by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal found the redrawing of boundaries by the province’s then-NDP government had violated the voter rights section of the Charter of Rights.
The Acadian Federation of Nova Scotia later took the province to court after the change saw the elimination of three protected Acadian districts.
After the ruling, the Liberal government said it would like to speak with Acadians in the province about appointing a new commission to redraw the province’s boundaries.
READ MORE: NS NDP member ponders legal move if election called without riding boundary review
Every 10 years Nova Scotia’s electoral boundaries are subject to review.
The poll released Tuesday morning is based on a telephone survey of 403 Nova Scotians conducted from Feb. 2-28, 2017. Its results are considered accurate to within +/- 4.9 percentage points, 95 out of 100 times.
– With files from The Canadian Press
Comments