Nova Scotia Electoral Boundaries Commission's Recommendation for the Acadian Region of Chéticamp
Nova Scotia’s House of Assembly has charged the 2025 Electoral Boundaries Commission with recommending updated electoral boundaries that will improve the effective representation of the Acadian region of Chéticamp and area.
The last review of the province’s electoral boundaries took place in 2018-19. Reviews normally take place at least every ten years.
However, this 2025 review took place as a result of an order by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia which ruled that the previous (2018) commission’s decision not to create an exceptional electoral district for Chéticamp violated Section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The commission held public meetings in July and submitted its interim report to the Premier of Nova Scotia on August 29, 2025. It held a second round in October, and accepted written submissions until November 3. Its members are grateful to all residents of Cape Breton who took part in the public consultation process.
The commission submitted its final report on January 30, 2026.
The work of the Electoral Boundaries Commission has come to an end, and its office is now closed.
Above: The 2025 Electoral Boundaries Commission's final recommendation.
Final Recommendation
Given that:
our mandate is to recommend a district that provides effective representation for the Acadians of the region of Chéticamp and evidence shows that the District of Inverness, as it currently stands, does not achieve this, and
the commission heard compelling support that the Margarees constitute a community of interest and should be not be divided, and, the commission found strong Acadian roots in the Margarees,
the commission’s final unanimous recommendation is a modified version of the scenario with the working title of Chéticamp and the Margarees. This creates a new exceptional riding.
The commission recommends the new exceptional riding be named Chéticamp – Margarees – Pleasant Bay
The name of the new riding clearly describes the area it includes and captures many of the communities in that area. The main communities are listed in alphabetical order. There are other ridings in the province that are named for the communities they include, so this new name is in keeping with provincial precedent.
The commission further recommends the rest of the former riding of Inverness be named Inverness – We’koqma’q
The name of this riding also clearly describes the area it includes and recognizes that it encompasses a Mi’kmaw community, using the Indigenous spelling for that community’s name.