Less of Mission will belong to the Maple Ridge-Mission riding in the next provincial election, with more of the city allocated to the Abbotsford-Mission riding.
Maple Ridge-Mission will also change its name to Maple Ridge East ahead of the next trip to the polls, the province decided earlier in April.
Changes suggested by the BC Electoral Areas Boundary Commission’s final report were unanimously adopted by the Legislative Assembly on April 6.
Maple Ridge East will include the Stave Falls, Silverhill, Ruskin, Whonnock, Websters Corners, Albion and Yennadon communities, with eastern boundaries following Stave Lake and Silverdale Creek.
Meanwhile, Abbotsford-Mission will keep its name but will include more of Mission’s centre and less of Abbotsford in the riding. In the next election, the riding will combine the core of Mission and the community of Hatzic with the northeast part of Abbotsford.
Bob D’Eith currently sits as MLA for Maple Ridge-Mission, while Minister of Agriculture and Food Pam Alexis is the Abbotsford-Mission MLA.
“The process around the riding redistributions, including names, is conducted by an independent body free of political interference and I thank them for their hard work,” D’Eith said. “I will continue to advocate for my constituents in Mission and Maple Ridge on important issues such as the cost of living, housing and health. Under the new boundaries, both Pam Alexis and I will continue to work hard for the people of Mission and collaborate on issues that affect the community.”
At Monday’s (April 17) City of Mission council meeting, Coun. Jag Gill said the changes were disheartening.
“I’m very disappointed in the results — especially when it comes to the naming, the more confusion I feel like it’s going to cause our residents, and also tying us in a bit with a Metro Vancouver riding,” Gill said.
Mission Mayor Paul Horn echoed Gill and was disappointed the commission didn’t follow the city’s feedback after earlier reports.
“It’s rather shocking to me that they seem to have left us in a worse position than we began this whole process,” Horn said.
Horn says the changes could lead to confusion for residents and problems with equal distribution from the riding’s representative.
“We are a much more marginal portion of that Maple Ridge riding now,” Horn said. “Bob [D’Eith] is very committed to our community, but it really comes down to how many calls you get. If you’re getting two thirds or three quarters of your calls for Maple Ridge residents, then that’s what consumes the majority of your time.”
The mayor wrote to the commission in November 2022 and suggested revisions that included choosing a name that accounted for Mission’s inclusion in the Maple Ridge East riding and boundaries that reflected the expected growth in Silverdale.
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dillon.white@missioncityrecord.com
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