Commission de la représentation électorale

Our values

• Impartiality and independence: making decisions free from influence and partisanship
• Fairness: seeking effective representation through equality of the vote of electors and respect of natural communities
• Transparency: informing the electorate and political stakeholders of the principles that guide our work to make our decisions public and maintain trust
• Listening: taking the opinions of citizens into account in our decision-making processes
• Professionalism: applying our knowledge and expertise and being accountable for our decisions 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 English-language 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

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 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

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.

Jean Chartier
Commissioner

Jean Chartier was called to the Barreau du Québec in 1982 after studying law at Université Laval. He served on the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec from 2006 to 2018, including nine years as its president. He also held various positions within Élections Québec for nearly 16 years, including as director of investigations, legislation, and special projects, and as director of legal affairs. This experience allowed him to acquire an in-depth knowledge of Québec’s electoral framework.

Speech (in French)

• Exposé de la Commission de la représentation électorale sur le Rapport préliminaire – Proposition de délimitation, le 14 février 2024

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.
• At the municipal and school levels, we hold public hearings when a sufficient number of electors oppose their municipality’s division by-law or their English-language school board’s division resolution. We also do this when the deadlines provided for by legislation are not met.