The purpose of the division of the territory of each borough into electoral districts is to ensure the fair and balanced representation of electors, within the boundaries of each borough.

The 58 electoral districts of Montréal are delimited to guarantee, within the territorial limits of each borough, the greatest socio-economic homogeneity, according to criteria such as physical barriers, demographic trends, limits of boroughs and parishes, areas and distances.

Revision process

The electoral map is revised every 4 years, one year before the general election. The Commission de la représentation électorale (CRE) provides support to municipalities and ensures that the revision process is in accordance with the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities.

In April 2008, the city council proceeded with the revision of the territory and adopted a draft by-law that

1. defined the limits of electoral districts
2. contained a map of the proposed districts

A public notice on the draft by-law was published on April 29, 2008, and objections to the draft by-law had to be filed within 15 days. They had to bear on the territorial limits of the proposed electoral districts, not on the number of electoral districts.

The objection period ended on May 14, 2008. As the required number of objections was not reached, the By-law concerning electoral districts (08-018) was adopted on May 26, 2008, and came into force on August 28, 2008.