The Town of Innisfil is undertaking a comprehensive review of the town’s council composition and ward boundaries. A ward is a geographical division of a city or town for administrative or political purposes. A council composition and ward boundary review is a task conducted on behalf of a municipality to assess whether the present electoral structure and wards constitute an effective, equitable and democratic system of representation and, if not, to propose alternatives.

The overall objective of this review is to establish fair and equitable representation of the residents at the town council table. The Town is growing, and settlement patterns are changing. Have things changed enough within Innisfil that the electoral wards need to be adjusted?

Innisfil is committed to involving citizens, businesses and stakeholders in conversations about municipal decisions that interest and/or impact them, including this council composition and ward boundary review.

This survey is important because it will help the consultants to understand how the citizens of Innisfil view the current electoral arrangement. Your wisdom and insight will enable the consulting team to provide thoughtful recommendations to your Council.

The survey is quite short and will take less than 10 minutes to complete and will be available until April 26, 2024. Please share it with friends, family, and neighbours.

To help you prepare to answer this survey and understand the changes being discussed, there are informative and interactive maps and other materials that can be found on the project webpage: www.getinvolvedinnisfil.ca/wardreview.

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* 1. What is your postal code? (Optional)

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* 2. What best describes you?

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* 3. How long have you lived in Innisfil?

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Town of Innisfil Ward Map

<strong>Town of Innisfil Ward Map</strong>

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* 4. Which ward do you live in? (See map above)
Interactive Map

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* 5. Which community in Innisfil do you live in?

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Current Council Composition and Ward Boundaries
Innisfil's Council is made up of a Mayor, a Deputy Mayor and seven (7) Councillors. There are seven (7) wards with one local Councillor elected in each ward. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected at-large. The Town's current ward configuration were established in 2009.

One guiding principle for this review is representation by population. For the Innisfil ward boundary review, a population variance between plus or minus 25 percent of what is called the “optimal” ward population are generally accepted as the maximum variance to achieve voter parity. The following table outlines the current ward system and the population variances where:
  • "O" represents ward populations that are plus or minus 5% away from the optimal (average) ward population;
  • "O+/O-" represents ward populations that are above/below the 5% variance but within the 25% acceptable range;
  • "OR+/OR-" represents ward populations that are above/below the 25% optimal population variance.

<strong>Current Council Composition and Ward Boundaries</strong><br>Innisfil's Council is made up of a Mayor, a Deputy Mayor and seven (7) Councillors. There are seven (7) wards with one local Councillor elected in each ward. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected at-large. The Town's current ward configuration were established in 2009.<br><br>One guiding principle for this review is representation by population. For the Innisfil ward boundary review, a population variance between plus or minus 25 percent of what is called the &ldquo;optimal&rdquo; ward population are generally accepted as the maximum variance to achieve voter parity. The following table outlines the current ward system and the population variances where: <br> <ul> <li>"O" represents ward populations that are plus or minus 5% away from the optimal (average) ward population;</li> <li>"O+/O-" represents ward populations that are above/below the 5% variance but within the 25% acceptable range;</li> <li>"OR+/OR-" represents ward populations that are above/below the 25% optimal population variance.</li> </ul>

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* 6. Is the Town's Council the right size?

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* 7. Does the current ward system represent you fairly?

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* 8. Did you know that the Mayor and Deputy Mayor also represent Innisfil on Simcoe County Council?

In Questions 9 and 10, please provide your thoughts of the present ward system (utilize the map and population table to help).

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* 9. What are the strengths of the current wards/ward boundaries?

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* 10. What are the weaknesses of the current wards/ward boundaries?

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* 11. Please indicate the ONE guiding principle that should be given the greatest priority to ensure effective voter representation as we assess the current ward makeup in Innisfil:

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