Haldimand County is undertaking a comprehensive review of the municipality’s ward boundaries. A ward is a geographical division of a city or town for administrative or political purposes. A ward boundary review is a task conducted on behalf of a municipality to assess whether the present electoral structure and wards constitute an effective, equitable and democratic system of representation and, if not, to propose alternatives.

The overall objective of this review is to establish fair and equitable representation of the residents at the municipal council table. The municipality is growing, and settlement patterns are changing. Have things changed enough within Haldimand County that the electoral wards need to be adjusted?

Haldimand County is committed to involving citizens, businesses and stakeholders in conversations about municipal decisions that interest and/or impact them, including this council composition and ward boundary review.

This survey is important because it will help the consultants to understand how the citizens of Haldimand County view the current electoral arrangement. Your wisdom and insight will enable the consulting team to provide thoughtful recommendations to your Council.

The survey is quite short and will take only a few minutes to complete and will be available until July 21, 2024. Please share it with friends, family, and neighbours.

To help you prepare to answer this survey and understand the changes being discussed, there are informative and interactive maps and other materials that can be found on the project webpage: www.haldimandcounty.ca/wardboundaryreview/

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* 1. What is your postal code? (Optional)

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* 2. What best describes you?

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* 3. How long have you lived in Haldimand County?

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Haldimand County Ward Map

<strong>Haldimand County Ward Map</strong>

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* 4. Which ward do you live in? (See map above)
Interactive Map

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* 5. Which community in Haldimand County do you live in?

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Current Council Composition and Ward Boundaries
Haldimand County's Council is made up of a Mayor and six (6) Councillors. There are six (6) wards with one local Councillor elected in each ward. The Mayor is elected at-large. Haldimand County's current ward configuration was established in 2001.

One guiding principle for this review is representation by population. For the Haldimand County ward boundary review, a population variance between plus or minus 25 percent of what is called the “optimal” ward population are generally accepted as the maximum variance to achieve voter parity. The following table outlines the current ward system and the population variances where:
  • "O" represents ward populations that are plus or minus 5% away from the optimal (average) ward population;
  • "O+/O-" represents ward populations that are above/below the 5% variance but within the 25% acceptable range;
  • "OR+/OR-" represents ward populations that are above/below the 25% optimal population variance.

<strong>Current Council Composition and Ward Boundaries</strong><br>Haldimand County's Council is made up of a Mayor and six (6) Councillors. There are six (6) wards with one local Councillor elected in each ward. The Mayor is elected at-large. Haldimand County's current ward configuration was established in 2001.<br><br>One guiding principle for this review is representation by population. For the Haldimand County ward boundary review, a population variance between plus or minus 25 percent of what is called the &ldquo;optimal&rdquo; ward population are generally accepted as the maximum variance to achieve voter parity. The following table outlines the current ward system and the population variances where: <br> <ul> <li>"O" represents ward populations that are plus or minus 5% away from the optimal (average) ward population;</li> <li>"O+/O-" represents ward populations that are above/below the 5% variance but within the 25% acceptable range;</li> <li>"OR+/OR-" represents ward populations that are above/below the 25% optimal population variance.</li> </ul>

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* 6. Is Haldimand County's Council the right size?

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* 7. Does the current ward system represent you fairly?

In Questions 8 and 9, please provide your thoughts of the present ward system (utilize the map and population table to help).

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* 8. What are the strengths of the current wards/ward boundaries?

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* 9. What are the weaknesses of the current wards/ward boundaries?

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* 10. Please indicate the ONE guiding principle that should be given the greatest priority to ensure effective voter representation as we assess the current ward makeup in Haldimand County:

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