The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) called on the Wall government today to scrap its plan to add three new provincial seats to the legislature and instead consider reducing Saskatchewan’s seat count down to 53; ‘merely’ double Alberta’s ratio of politicians to citizens.
“Saskatchewan already has the highest ratio of provincial politicians to citizens among Canadian province with more than a million people,” said CTF Prairie Director Colin Craig. “It’s true Saskatchewan’s population is growing, but that doesn’t mean the province needs more provincial politicians. If anything, it’s time to reduce the number of provincial seats.”
Current Ratio of Politicians to Citizens
| Province | Population | Current # of Politicians | Ratio of Politicians to People |
| Saskatchewan (Current) | 1,058,000 | 58 | 1:18,241 |
| Saskatchewan (Gov Proposal)* | 1,158,000 | 61 | 1:18,984 |
| Saskatchewan (CTF Proposal)* | 1,158,000 | 53 | 1:21,849 |
| Manitoba | 1,250,000 | 57 | 1:21,930 |
| Alberta** | 3,779,000 | 87 | 1:43,437 |
| British Columbia | 4,573,000 | 85 | 1:53,800 |
| Quebec | 7,980,000 | 125 | 1:63,840 |
| Ontario | 13,373,000 | 107 | 1:124,981 |
* Based on population increase of 100,000 people
** Upcoming election will include 87 constituencies
“If Saskatchewan reduced the size of its legislature by five seats, it would still have double the number of politicians to people as Alberta,” added Craig. “If anything, the size of Saskatchewan’s legislature should go down, not up.”
Is Canada Off Track?
Canada has problems. You see them at gas station. You see them at the grocery store. You see them on your taxes.
Is anyone listening to you to find out where you think Canada’s off track and what you think we could do to make things better?
You can tell us what you think by filling out the survey
Franco Terrazzano
Federal Director
Hey, it’s Franco.
Did you know that you can get the inside scoop right from my notebook each week? I’ll share hilarious and infuriating stories the media usually misses with you every week so you can hold politicians accountable.
You can sign up for our Action Update emails
We take data security and privacy seriously. Your information will be kept safe.