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Gerrymander

The intentional setting of electoral boundaries taking into account traditional voting patterns, so as to attempt to influence the taking of an elected office.

The intentional setting of electoral boundaries taking into account traditional voting patterns, so as to attempt to influence the taking of an elected office.

In MacKinnon v PEI:

"A gerrymander refers to a method of arranging electoral districts so that one party will be enabled to elect more representatives than it could on a more fair distribution of districts."

Also, in Westcoast Energy v Peace River of October 1998, the British Columbia Court of Appeal adopted these words in regards to gerrymander:

"Manipulate boundaries of (constituency etc.) unfairly so as to secure disproportionate influence at election for some party or class. Thus, the word "gerrymander" imports an aspect of bad faith or improper purpose."

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Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.

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