Should the County of Brant change its ward boundaries?

The County of Brant hopes feedback collected this month will help determine if the time has come to reassess ward boundaries and council composition.

As it stands, the 20 county communities are divided into five wards, with two elected part-time councillors representing each one.

Looking ahead to the October 2026 municipal election, the county wants to know if the current structure is still working, or if there’s a “public appetite” for change, Alysha Dyjach, director of council services, told councillors at a policy development committee meeting in May.

Potential refinements could include increasing or decreasing the number of councillors or wards, or moving to a full-time councillor model, Dyjach told councillors.

The current ward boundaries were created in 2005, and only changed as a result of a boundary adjustment with the City of Brantford in 2017, according to the report Dyjach presented. As part of the adjustment, some land in Brant’s wards 1 and 5 became part of Brantford.

The last review took place before the 2022 municipal and school board election, at which time council determined the current structure would remain in place.

The county has seen significant growth since then, with the majority of it affecting wards 2 and 3 — both representing Paris — according to the report.

However, despite what looks like a “huge” change, the elector distribution is still fairly even across the county, Dyjach told councillors.

At the meeting, Coun. Robert Chambers attributed this to a former council — which he was on — making a then-controversial move to pre-emptively adapt the ward boundaries, affecting Paris, in anticipation of the growth.

Locals have until July 26 to share thoughts on the matter by completing a survey on EngageBrant in person at one of the main county customer service locations, or over the phone.

The policy development committee will hear the public feedback on Sept. 3 and decide at that time if a full review is warranted.

If the review suggests new ward boundaries are needed, changes will come into effect following the election, according to the report.

Celeste Percy-Beauregard’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report on stories about Brant County. Reach her at cpercybeauregard@torstar.ca.

Celeste Percy-Beauregard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator