Population determines the number of Parliamentary seats a province is entitled to claim.
Canadians move back and forth and around the country. New immigrants select where in the country they want to live. Provincial populations change all the time. Therefore, the Parliamentary seats allocated to each Province should change as well.
Seats in our Federal Parliament are adjusted using an arithmetic formula, agreed by everyone years ago. The formula adjusts the number of seats per Province based on population changes.
We see the population changes every ten years, with the census required by law.
So far, so good; the wisdom is undeniable. Everyone agreed that the decision formula was perfect and would allow Canadians’ democratic representation to automatically adjust every ten years to reflect changes across the country.
Based on the last census, Alberta will gain three seats, British Columbia one, and Quebec will lose one.
Years ago, the Province of Quebec agreed to the seat distribution law. But they never imagined their population would decline while British Columbia’s and Alberta’s increased. Quebecers are lighting their hair on fire at the prospect of losing power in our federal Parliament.
The Province of Quebec now asserts they are entitled to a fixed percentage of seats, regardless of its population decline.
With infantile foot-stomping, they demand Alberta not receive more seats in our nation’s Parliament. Alberta, the younger of the Provinces, and the Province that has contributed more than its fair share in equalization payments is so far demonstrating restraint. But if the parents entertain the childish antics of La Belle Province, the good citizens of Alberta might, as I and many others have already done, declare a ’last straw event’ to have occurred, and decide it is time to leave.