The Quebec government has announced it will seek permission to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in a bid to preserve a provincial riding in the Gaspé Peninsula. This move comes after the Quebec Court of Appeal struck down a law that had postponed the riding's elimination.
Court Ruling Invalidates Postponement Law
On December 1, 2025, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that a law passed by the National Assembly was unconstitutional. The law, tabled by Premier François Legault's government in 2024, had interrupted the standard electoral boundary review process. This process is mandated to occur after every two general elections.
The independent electoral boundary commission had initially recommended merging one of the three ridings in the Gaspésie region with another, and eliminating a riding in Montreal's east end. The goal was to create a better balance of population between electoral districts across Quebec.
Unanimous Vote and Legal Challenge
Members of the National Assembly from all four political parties voted to adopt the law, delaying the boundary changes until after the 2026 provincial election. Legislators acted on concerns that the Gaspé region would lose political influence and that the geographic size of eastern Quebec ridings would become unmanageably large.
This legislative action prompted a legal challenge from the Conseil des préfets et des élus de la région des Laurentides (CPERL). The Laurentian region argued it was under-represented in Quebec City and that the law unfairly diluted the votes of its citizens. The Court of Appeal agreed, stating the bill was an "effort to circumvent the independent process" in the Election Act and violated Charter-guaranteed democratic rights.
Next Steps and Political Implications
In response to the court's decision, Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette stated the government will ask the Supreme Court to hear an appeal. Jolin-Barrette emphasized that the government believes "citizens in all regions need to be well represented."
The Court of Appeal rejected a request to suspend its ruling for six months, arguing that doing so would allow the next election to proceed under the current map, making the case irrelevant. Following the decision, the electoral boundaries commission sent a revised map to the government. The National Assembly must approve any revisions for them to be used in the next election.
The proposed new map would eliminate the Gaspé and Montreal ridings, creating new districts in the growing regions of the Laurentians, Lanaudière, and Centre-du-Québec. The court noted that an exception for low population already exists for the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, and the legislature could have amended the Election Act to create similar exceptions but chose not to.
