Demerger vote will change map of Quebec

Municipal maps are being redrawn in Quebec after 89 municipalities had their chance to demerge from megacities created under the former Parti Québécois government.

CBC News Posted: Jun 21, 2004 3:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 21, 2004

Municipal maps are being redrawn in Quebec after 89 municipalities had their chance to demerge from megacities created under the former Parti Qubcois government.

The 35% Rule

Two conditions must be met in order for the answer to the referendum question to be considered affirmative:

1. There must be more YES votes than NO votes.

The number of YES votes must represent more than 50% of the valid votes.

2. The number of YES votes must represent at least 35% of the number of persons whose names are registered on the referendum list.

This 35% is calculated on the basis of the number of qualified voters registered on the referendum list and does not represent, for example, a percentage of the number of persons who voted.

Source: Directeur Gnral des lections du Qubec

The municipal mergers were set up in 2002, creating boroughs with fewer powers.

The former mayor of Westmount, Peter Trent rejoiced with his demerger supporters on Sunday night as the referendum results were announced.

"In spite of the fact that the PQ merged us against our will, we got our city back!" he told a crowd of supporters.

RELATED STORY - Montrealers have spoken: 15 boroughs vote 'yes'

Montreal mayor and megacity advocate, Grald Tremblay may have lost more than half of the former municipalities on the island, but he's managed to put a positive spin on the results.

"A total of 87 per centclose to 1.6 million citizenshave decided to choose Montreal. To those that decided to leave, I would like to say that I respect your decision which was a democratic choice," Tremblay said Sunday night.

The merger issue cost the PQ crucial votes in the last provincial election. When the Liberals took power, Premier Jean Charest promised Quebecers they would have a say on mergersalbeit with some complicated conditions.

Municipalities were only allowed to demerge if a majority of voters agreed to it and only if 35 per cent of all registered voters voted "yes."

They were conditions many municipalities in regions outside of Montreal failed to accomplish.

What's next

There is still a lot of work to be done before demerged cities can once again claim independence.

The cities that voted "yes" will be able to claim official status in 18 months.

Transition committees and unions will now have to hammer out new employee contracts.

Pierrefonds, Ile-Bizard, Greenfield Park and Anjou are among those whose residents voted in favour of the status quo.

A minimum of 35 per cent of registered voters had to have voted "yes" for a demerger to be passed in one specific sector.

The final results, with percentage of registered voters who voted "yes":
Demerging
Baie D'Urf:	72.8%
Beaconsfield:	45.4%
Boucherville:	47.95%
Brossard:	38.9%
Cap-aux-Meules:	39.8%
Cte-St-Luc:	40.4%
Dollard-des-Ormeaux:	37.4%
Dorval:	41.4%
Dorval Island:	74.0%
Estrel:	52.1%
Grosse-Ile:	60%
Hampstead:	45.7%
Ivry-sur-le-Lac:	40.5%
Kirkland:	47.3%
L'Ancienne-Lorette:	40.9%
La Bostonnais:	40.9%
La Macaza:	42.2%
Lac douard:	43.1%
Lac-Tremblant-Nord:	50.3%
Masson-Angers:	35.0%
Mont-Royal:	41.7%
Montreal-East:	45.1%
Montreal-West:	47.5%
Newport:	35.8%
Pointe-Claire:	52.8%
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue:	47.7%
Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures:	38.4%
Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville:	38.8%
Saint-Aim-du-Lac-des-Iles:	52.4%
Saint-Lambert:	41.4%
Senneville:	73.6%
Westmount:	52.6%
Status Quo
Anjou:	26.5%
Aubert-Gallion:	22.6%
Aylmer:	26.44%
Beauport:	19.4%
Black Lake:	24.2%
Bromptonville:	20.0%
Canton Magog:	25.6%
Canton Sutton:	20.6%
Cap Rouge:	22.5%
Charlesbourg:	18.5%
Charny:	18.0%
Deauville:	26.1%
Gallix:	10.5%
Grande-Ile:	30.4%
Grand-Mre:	25.4%
Greenfield Park:	27.4%
La Croche:	11.0%
Lac--la-Tortue:	31.5%
Lac-Saint-Charles:	29.9%
LaSalle:	20.4%
L'Ile-Bizard:	33.7%
Lennoxville:	18.6%
Loretteville:	14.4%
Maple Grove:	31.4%
Melocheville:	26.0%
Mtis-sur-Mer:	22.7%
Mont-Brun:	20.4%
Mont-Tremblant:	31.3%
Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel:	26.97%
Parent:	25.4%
Petit-Matane:	10.96%
Pierrefonds:	24.9%
Robertsonville:	32.8%
Roxboro:	33.4%
Saint-Athanase:	22.0%
Saint-lie-d'Orford:	23.3%
Saint-mile:	21.2%
Saint-tienne-de-Lauzon:	28.0%
Saint-Georges:	26.5%
Saint-Grard-des-Laurentides:	27.7%
Saint-Jean-Baptiste:	22.8%
Saint-Jean-des-Piles:	18.3%
Saint-Laurent:	28.6%
Saint-Luc-de-Matane:	16.6%
Saint-Nicolas:	27.0%
Saint-Rdempteur:	19.7%
Saint-Timothe:	30.0%
Sainte-Agathe-Nord:	19.0%
Sainte-Foy:	28.4%
Sainte-Genevive:	21.49%
Sainte-Rosalie (Paroisse):	27.5%
Sainte-Vronique:	21.5%
Sillery:	21.1%
Val-Blair:	18.9%
Vanier:	23.2%
Source: Directeur Gnral des lections du Qubec.

Advance polls

Quebec's Chief Electoral Officer, Marcel Blanchet, says a total of 103,991 people voted in the advance poll held on June 13 and 14.

That's 10.61 per cent of the 979,744 persons registered on the referendum lists.

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