Quebec's chief electoral officer is questioning whether a remote group of islands should be able to keep the special legal status that allows it to operate as provincial riding despite its small population.
As of Nov. 2014, the Iles-de-la-Madeleine riding had less than 11,000 voters, compared to an average of 49,000 in the province's other electoral districts.
The riding was given special status in 1895 and it is the only one whose boundaries are protected under the province's Election Act.
In a recent report, the committee that studies electoral boundaries pointed out the remote archipelago in the St. Lawrence was given exceptional status at a time when it was difficult to travel back and forth to the mainland, and suggested the situation has now changed.
But the member of the legislature representing the islands is arguing against any change to the riding's status.
Germain Chevarie says the insular community's distinct geography and culture means it needs its own representation.
