Gerrymander

The intentional setting of electoral boundaries taking into account traditional voting patterns, so as to attempt to influence the taking of an elected office.

The intentional setting of electoral boundaries taking into account traditional voting patterns, so as to attempt to influence the taking of an elected office.

In MacKinnon v PEI:

"A gerrymander refers to a method of arranging electoral districts so that one party will be enabled to elect more representatives than it could on a more fair distribution of districts."

Also, in Westcoast Energy v Peace River of October 1998, the British Columbia Court of Appeal adopted these words in regards to gerrymander:

"Manipulate boundaries of (constituency etc.) unfairly so as to secure disproportionate influence at election for some party or class. Thus, the word "gerrymander" imports an aspect of bad faith or improper purpose."

References and Further Reading:

• MacKinnon v PEI (1993) 101 DLR 4th 362
• Westcoast Energy v Peace River 167 DLR 4th 98, published at canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/1998/1998canlii6863/1998canlii6863.html