Skip to content

We use cookies and certain third-party tools to ensure optimal website performance, adjust settings, obtain statistics, and display content. You can deactivate elements that may collect personal information, but you will lose access to some content. To learn more, customize your preferences or consult our Privacy policy.

Logo
Close
Our institution

Commission de la représentation électorale

Summary

The Commission de la représentation électorale is an independent institution whose mission is to draw up the electoral map of Québec and, where necessary, those of the municipalities and English-language school boards. It acts in a neutral and impartial manner. It reports directly to the Assemblée nationale. The method of appointment of its commissioners requires the agreement of two thirds of the members of the Assemblée nationale.

In this section

We are holding public consultations as part of the work to review Québec’s electoral map.

Our values

  • Impartiality in the performance of our duties
  • Independence from political power
  • Fairness in the representation of electors
  • Transparency in our actions and decisions
  • Openness in our decision-making process
  • Competence in carrying out our mandates

Mission and mandates

Our mission is to draw up the electoral map of Québec (and, where necessary, those of municipalities and English-language school boards) by fostering input from citizens and by ensuring them a fair and equitable representation. The Commission can rely on Élections Québec’s staff in carrying out its mandates.

Creating the Québec electoral map

The division of the territory for electoral purposes is of primary importance for the operation of the electoral system, since it ensures an equitable representation of electors, who are grouped into electoral divisions. When drawing up the electoral map, we take into account the equality of the vote for electors and ensure that natural communities are respected.

Support for the development of municipal and school electoral maps

Municipalities and school boards are responsible for the process of dividing their territory into electoral districts. Our responsibility is making sure that this process runs smoothly. This ensures that citizens are fairly and equitably represented on their municipal council and school board.

Role of the Commission (in French)

Members

The Commission de la représentation électorale is made up of the Chief Electoral Officer, Jean-François Blanchet, who chairs the Commission, and two commissioners appointed by the Assemblée nationale from among qualified electors.

Jean-François Blanchet
Chief Electoral Officer and Chairman of the Commission de la représentation électorale

Jean-François Blanchet

Mr. Blanchet worked for 33 years at Élections Québec before becoming Chief Electoral Officer and Chairman of the Commission de la représentation électorale. Throughout his career, he acquired an in-depth knowledge of information technology and the electoral process.

From 2015 to 2022, Blanchet served as Director of Electoral Operations and Assistant to the Chief Electoral Officer. As the head of the administrative unit whose main purpose was to organize provincial elections, his mandate was to modernize election processes and to facilitate the exercise of the electors’ right to vote, in particular by proposing amendments to electoral and referendum legislation. He also oversaw the returning officers of the 125 electoral divisions in Québec.

He previously worked for 25 years in the field of election-related information technology. He has held management positions for 10 years in this field.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Blanchet has participated in a dozen international electoral observation and best practice exchange missions.

Édith Gravel
Commissioner

Édith Gravel

With a bachelor’s degree in geography and a master’s degree in environmental science from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Édith Gravel has been active in the fields of municipal land use planning and regional development in the municipal sector for over 17 years. In her role as Director General and Clerk-Treasurer at the MRC de Matawinie, she is responsible for implementing the vision and orientations of the MRC Council, in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team, to lead Matawinie in structuring and innovative projects. Having worked in management for several years, she relies on good communication and teamwork to successfully carry out her various responsibilities.

Kevin Bouchard
Commissioner

Kévin Bouchard

Kevin Bouchard is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Law at Université Laval, as well as a member of the Barreau du Québec. His research interests encompass administrative and constitutional law, the foundations of public law, and the philosophy of law. His doctoral thesis, which received multiple honours in France and Québec, is titled Aux origines conceptuelles du constitutionnalisme de common law. It was completed as part of a joint doctoral program offered by Université Laval and Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas. Mr. Bouchard also served as an elected member of the Saint-Sacrement Neighborhood Council from 2015 to 2019.

Public consultations

We hold public consultations as part of the process for creating electoral maps and actively want to hear from citizens and the various interested stakeholders.

  • On a provincial level, we hold public hearings across the province in certain regions of Québec to hear the opinions of a wide range of citizens, MNAs, and interested organizations following the tabling of our preliminary report, which presents an initial proposal for the delineation of electoral divisions.
  • On the municipal and school board levels, we hold public hearings and make decisions following a public hearing held by a municipality or an English-language school board. We also do this when a divisional bylaw is not adopted within the statutory timeframe.

You can view the public notices and decisions made by the Commission during the public consultations held in some municipalities in 2020.

Other resources

The Charter of the French language and its regulations govern the consultation of English-language content.

Was this page useful to you?

Please do not enter any personal information. If you would like a response, please contact us.