B.C. could get five more Commons seats

B.C. appears set to get five more seats in the House of Commons, two fewer than initially proposed by the federal government.

A federal bill originally introduced in the spring was to give Ontario 13 additional seats, seven to B.C. and five to Alberta.

According to B.C. MLA John Les, who isthe parliamentary secretary to Premier Christy, sources have confirmed to himB.C. will now receive five new seats while Alberta will gain six and Quebec will get two.

The federal government has not confirmed any of the numbers, but Les said the change would still give B.C. more clout in the Commons.

"Perfection is probably almost impossible to achieve in this kind of thing," said Les.

"I think it is the single largest increase in allocation of seats that we have ever had in British Columbia." The changes are to adjust for population increases in the provinces that will be allocated more seats.

B.C. NDP leader Adrian Dix said it would still leave B.C. under-represented.