Burlington Council Unanimously Approves Independent Review of Ward Boundaries and Council Size

At our March 19 meeting, Burlington City Council unanimously approved the hiring of an independent consultant to review Burlington's ward boundaries and current composition of Council, to look into and recommend if any changes are warranted.See the approved full motion from Council, My Take, and the associated staff report and supporting documents below — as well as additional background information further down this post.APPROVED MOTION:

• Approve Option 2 in staff report: Council Composition and Ward Boundary Review, the associated expenditure of $220,000, and the use of the Election Reserve Fund to offset the costs; and
• Direct the City Clerk to retain an independent consultant to conduct the Council Composition and Ward Boundary Review.

MY TAKE:I'm very much looking forward to this conversation as it is long overdue for our city and very welcomed. With the growth that is expected to come to Burlington, we will not have things equitably distributed with our current model -- growth is being targeted at our Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs) and not every ward has an MTSA. With this increase, it will also increase the workload on council and councillors, so having a review of Council's current size and model is timely.

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To read the staff report and related supporting documents, please click/tap the links below:

• Staff report: CL-03-24 Ward Boundaries Review.pdf
• Appendix: CL-03-24 Appendix A - Population by member municipal comparators.pdf

BACKGROUND:At the July 11, 2023 Council meeting, Office of the City Clerk staff were directed to bring back a report on the potential City of Burlington ward boundary review for consideration including an option to review council composition and governance model. The purpose of this report is to provide Council with information on a proposed ward boundary review and to seek direction on the scope and process of the review, and approval of the proposed budget for this exercise. The goal of the review itself is to ensure voters are represented equally in the decision-making process and to establish a ward structure that will accommodate growth and population shifts for at least the next three municipal election cycles (2026, 2030, 2034).A ward boundary review is typically undertaken every three to four election cycles to ensure the division of wards in the City reflects the principles of effective representation. Effective representation as established by the Supreme Court of Canada in what is commonly known as the “Carter Case,” means that the primary consideration is voter parity, along with factors to be considered such as geography, community history, community interests and minority representation.The last ward boundaries review for the City of Burlington took place in 2005 and was implemented for the 2006 municipal election. Through this review, the City’s six ward boundaries were re-drawn, and a seven-member council maintained. Burlington has had a seven member council since 1997, when Burlington had a population of 139,000. Since the last review, the population of Burlington has increased from approximately 160,000 in 2005, to approximately 186,948 in 2021, according to Census population data. The City’s increasing rate of growth over the last 10 years is expected to continue. Given the length of time that has elapsed since the last review, where established ward boundaries were in force for the last five election cycles, along with continued population growth, staff believe that undertaking a ward boundary review at this time is appropriate.