Council composition and ward boundary review

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This consultation has concluded

Blue circle on top of blue quadrilateral, with white lines that imitate roads on a map covering both shapes. Both shapes together look look like a stylized image of a human. Background is light gray with lots of white lines imitating road map.


We are reviewing Guelph’s Council composition and ward boundaries to understand if our Council and wards are effective, equitable and an accurate reflection of who lives here. This review will have a lasting impact on how you’re represented at the municipal level, now and into the future.

In this last phase of engagement, we need your help to review four ward boundary options and the suggested council composition for each. Engagement is open from April 6 to April 20.

You are in the right place because everything you need to participate in this project can be found on this project web page.


This consultation is now closed

This information has been used to select final options and write the final report to council. Council will meet to discuss the report and its findings, and hear delegations, on June 21, with a final decision made on June 23.

Please feel free to continue reviewing the findings and options presented by the consultants throughout this page.

For more information please contact:

Dylan McMahon, Manager and Deputy City Clerk
Legislative Services, City Clerk’s Office
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension 2811
dylan.mcmahon@guelph.ca



We are reviewing Guelph’s Council composition and ward boundaries to understand if our Council and wards are effective, equitable and an accurate reflection of who lives here. This review will have a lasting impact on how you’re represented at the municipal level, now and into the future.

In this last phase of engagement, we need your help to review four ward boundary options and the suggested council composition for each. Engagement is open from April 6 to April 20.

You are in the right place because everything you need to participate in this project can be found on this project web page.


This consultation is now closed

This information has been used to select final options and write the final report to council. Council will meet to discuss the report and its findings, and hear delegations, on June 21, with a final decision made on June 23.

Please feel free to continue reviewing the findings and options presented by the consultants throughout this page.

For more information please contact:

Dylan McMahon, Manager and Deputy City Clerk
Legislative Services, City Clerk’s Office
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension 2811
dylan.mcmahon@guelph.ca


This consultation has concluded

We want to answer questions you have about the Council composition and ward boundary review. We're an open book. Ask us a question and we’ll share the answer.  




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    Why are we changing Ward numbers? I have lived in Ward 1 for 18 years and some their whole lives..why would this change now? The Ward is ward 1 and should stay the Ward ! If there needs to be a distinction of Downtown area so be it but the residentail area remains Ward 1. All other Ward should stay relatively the same and then add new ones to new areas. For Example: Southend and Eastend getting new ward numbers.

    Flygirl asked almost 3 years ago

    Ward numbering changes may be required depending on the ward boundaries approved by City Council, especially if the number of wards change.

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    This question was asked at the April 13 ward boundary town hall: can you highlight for me the average number of voters per ward in the existing system, versus in the proposed options?

    almost 3 years ago

    The ward boundary review is focused on population, not electors. As a result, the work that has been done as part of this review looks at population metrics. We don’t have voter metrics available for existing or proposed wards. Existing population metrics per ward are available in the preliminary options report and projected population metrics are available in the final options detail guides posted in the document library.

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    This question was asked at the April 13 ward boundary town hall: why do we not try to forecast population longer than 10 years?

    almost 3 years ago

    The terms of reference for this project specifically asked to look at population and growth projections over a period of three municipal elections, which takes us through a ten-year time horizon to 2030. It also becomes more difficult to make granular growth projections over a longer time horizon. Conducting a ward boundary review every ten years also allows for wards to stay in sync with the community.

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    This question was asked at the April 13 ward boundary town hall: when will the final report be available for the public to review?

    almost 3 years ago

    There are two Council meetings planned for this project. On June 21, 2021 the consultant team will be presenting the final options and there will be an opportunity for delegations and members of Council to ask questions. We’ll come back on June 23, 2021 for Council to debate and make a final decision. The final reports will be made public on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

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    This question was asked at the April 13 ward boundary town hall: is this review independent or are staff directing the work?

    almost 3 years ago

    Staff are not directing this work. The terms of reference were set out in an RFP. The consultant team submitted a proposal and were selected to complete the work. The consultant team works with staff to coordinate aspects of the work, such as deadlines and meetings, but the content of the review is an independent process.

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    This question was asked at the April 7 ward boundary town hall: are the four options being presented today the ones preferred by the public ... from the graph you showed earlier?

    almost 3 years ago

    The graph on page 3 of the engagement summary for round two shows the four options in the middle as the options that were most voted on by the public in the last round of consultation. The final four options presented today are based on these preferred options with some slight modifications.

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    This question was asked at the April 7 ward boundary town hall: the report mentions 29 different neighbourhoods in Guelph. Does the City have a map of these communities that can be added to the Ward Boundary Review website?

    almost 3 years ago

    There is no official neighbourhood map or list per se. We used our general knowledge and desktop review of online resources (e.g. realtor.caguelphheritage.ca) to sketch out neighbourhoods in the city and identify qualitatively their groupings within the proposed wards under each option.

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    This question was asked at the April 7 ward boundary town hall: are the population estimates by neighbourhood available for the 14,000 University of Guelph students added to the city population?

    almost 3 years ago

    While post-secondary students are captured in the population metrics, it is difficult to isolate permanent versus non-permanent student populations. A large share of post-secondary students are already captured in standard census population metrics (permanent) with the non-permanent population layered on to generate the total population metrics used in this review. As a result, we don’t have that level of data available to release.

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    This question was asked at the April 7 ward boundary town hall: what in your expert opinion is the most democratic option for the Guelph electorate. Not what is the most convenient - elections only occur every 4 years, so again what is the most democratic option for the electorate in your opinion?

    almost 3 years ago

    There is no precise answer to this question and depends on what the residents of Guelph want to get out of this review. Some residents may feel that their community is better represented in a particular grouping of neighbourhoods that give that part of the city a distinctive voice. Others may have the goal of having as many voices as possible around the table. There is no specific formula and while the consultants can provide some guidance, it is up to the residents of Guelph to make the final analysis about what is right for their community.

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    Will our counsellor representation change with the new ward assignments, if approved ? i.e ward 4 to be called ward 3 as shown on 5-1

    RICK295 asked almost 3 years ago

    Councillor representation may change depending on whether a new ward boundary configuration is approved by Council. If approved, the new configuration will be in effect for the 2022 municipal election. The ward you’re in as well as the number of councillors per ward could change. These changes would be communicated well in advance of the next election.