Miramichi—Grand Lake is a federal electoral district in New Brunswick that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1867 under various names.
History The riding started out as Northumberland (later known as Northumberland-Miramichi), and was replaced by Miramichi from 1988 to 2015, and then Miramichi—Grand Lake since 2015.
The Miramichi riding consisted of the entirety of Northumberland County and the area around Kouchibouguac National Park, adding in 2003 the Belledune area of Restigouche County and Gloucester County as well several bedroom communities for Bathurst. The bedroom communities of Bathurst were returned to the Acadie-Bathurst riding after the 2006 election.
The Miramichi riding was subsequently succeeded by the current Miramichi-Grand Lake riding, which lost the Belledune region and gained a portion of the Grand Lake region. Northumberland/Northumberland—Miramichi
The riding was created in 1867 as "Northumberland" riding, but in 1914 the same name was given to a riding in Ontario. In 1955 this inconvenience was relieved by renaming the New Brunswick riding to "Northumberland—Miramichi". Until 1966, Northumberland—Miramichi consisted solely of Northumberland County, but due to declining populations, parts of northern Kent County, near present-day Kouchibouguac National Park, were added. In 1987, Northumberland—Miramichi was abolished when it was redistributed into Miramichi and Beauséjour ridings.
Miramichi
Miramichi riding was created in 1987 primarily from Northumberland—Miramichi riding, and incorporating parts of Acadie—Bathurst, Madawaska—Restigouche and York—Sunbury ridings.
Between 1987 and 1996, Miramichi also included a small part of York County, and in 2003, a large area to the north, including Allardville and Belledune, was added to the riding.
In 2004, there were legal problems regarding the 2003 boundaries. The following is from the Elections Canada website:
In May 2004, the Federal Court of Canada made its decision in Raîche v. Canada (Attorney General), concerning a portion of the electoral boundary between the ridings of Miramichi and Acadie—Bathurst. The Court held that in transferring certain parts of parishes from the riding of Acadie–Bathurst to Miramichi, the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for New Brunswick erred in its application of the rules governing the preparation of its recommendations. The new boundaries commission was created under Part I of the Inquiries Act in response to this court decision.
The boundaries reverted to the ones used in the 1996 representation after the 2006 election.
Miramichi-Grand Lake Miramichi—Grand Lake was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It came into effect upon the call of the 2015 Canadian federal election. 83% of the riding came from the previous Miramichi district, and incorporated small portions of Fredericton (10%), Beauséjour (6%), and Tobique—Mactaquac (1%). The riding, gained a portion of the Grand Lake region. Unlike adjoining regions which had been added to the riding in previous redistributions, Grand Lake's name was added to the name of the riding in this redistribution.
Following the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution, its boundary with Madawaska—Restigouche was rerouted around Mount Carleton Provincial Park and the Nepisiguit Protected Natural Area, lost the remainder of the Regional Municipality of Tracadie to Acadie—Bathurst, gained the remainder of the Parishes of Maugerville, Sheffield and Canning from Fredericton, and gained Waterborough from Fundy Royal.
Members of Parliament
Election results
Miramichi—Grand Lake, 2013 – present
2021 federal election redistributed results Party Vote % Conservative 15,345 45.46 Liberal 12,490 37.00 New Democratic 2,494 7.39 People's 1,815 5.38 Green 1,582 4.69 Independent 15 0.04 Libertarian 11 0.03 Communist 3 0.01 Total valid votes 33,755 99.10 Rejected ballots 308 0.90 Registered voters/ estimated turnout 50,587 67.34
2011 federal election redistributed resultsPundits' Guide to Canadian Elections Party Vote % Conservative 18,352 53.19 New Democratic 7,888 22.86 Liberal 7,373 21.37 Green 850 2.46 Independent 41 0.12
Miramichi, 1987–2013
2000 federal election redistributed results Party Vote % Liberal 17,109 49.27 Progressive Conservative 8,000 23.04 Alliance 5,487 15.80 New Democratic 4,130 11.89
Northumberland—Miramichi, 1955–1987
Northumberland, 1867–1955
See also List of Canadian electoral districts Historical federal electoral districts of Canada
References
Campaign expense data from Elections Canada Map of Miramichi riding archived by Elections Canada Riding history from the Library of Parliament: Northhumberland Northhumberland-Miramichi Miramichi
Notes