Et tu, Quebec?

Harper: More seats for Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario...and Quebec?

On Friday, Harper hinted that Quebec may gain new seats in Parliament in order to keep its influence in the House proportional (did you ever think you'd see the day?). The prime minister is still intent on the Conservative plan to increase seats for British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario, but concerns about the repercussions in Quebec seem to have stalled the proposed legislation. Though the Conservative platform says Quebec will have at least 75 seats, the addition of 18 seats to Ontario, seven to B.C. and five to Alberta means that Quebec would hold only 22.2 per cent of the seats with roughly 23.1 per cent of the national population. Even if they gained enough seats to reflect their population accurately, it would still be a loss for Quebec, since they currently hold 24.4 per cent of parliamentary power.

Image courtesy of Reuters