Regina to change ward boundaries for 2020 election

The City of Regina is proposing ward boundary changes in advance of next year’s municipal election, and it wants residents’ feedback on the proposed new map.

City clerk Jim Nicol explained that the city is mandated by legislation to make the changes; it’s to ensure that each of Regina’s 10 wards is within a 10-per-cent variance of an overall average population.

Growth in Harbour Landing and in Regina’s southeast end around the Greens on Gardiner are big drivers, he said; they’re represented by wards 2 and 4, respectively.

“My understanding from the documentation we received is Ward 2 increased 29 per cent” since 2014, said Nicol, who noted Ward 4 increased 13 per cent in the same time period.

Both jumps are significant, he added, especially the 29 per cent.

“With the Greens on Gardiner and all the development along those corridors leading east, I think you’d be hard-pressed to say, ‘Wow, I didn’t see anything out there,’ ” he said.

Under the proposed changes, Ward 2 would be reduced so that Lakeview would be moved into Ward 1; all of Glencairn would be removed from Ward 4 and moved into Ward 5; Ward 3 would be extended north to include North Central; and, Heritage would go to Ward 6.

Residents can view the proposed map changes online at the City of Regina’s website. There’s also information there about public feedback sessions and opportunities to view the maps in person, starting next week.

Nicol added that if the city’s projections are any indication, Regina will keep growing in wards 2, 4 and 8, and that more boundary changes could be on the way.

“We may well be doing another boundary review in 2022, in advance of the 2024 election,” he said.