Riding (Canada)

In the Canadian Republic, a riding (French: comté), also known as an electoral district (circonscription électorale), is a geographical division upon which the country's representative democracy is based. Ridings exist at both the provincial/territorial and federal level: each province and territory is divided into its own ridings, each represented by a seat in the respective provincial or territorial assembly and consisting of roughly equal population, while the country as a whole is also divided into distinct federal ridings, each represented by a seat in the House of Commons of Canada (the lower chamber of the Parliament of Canada) and also of roughly equal population; federal ridings do not correlate with provincial/territorial ridings, with each of the former type usually covering a geographical area covered by several of the latter type.

The Senate of Canada (the upper chamber of Parliament) does not use ridings, as its members do not represent equal population numbers; rather, each province and territory of Canada is represented by two senators and the federal capital district by a single senator, meaning the Senate consists of 37 seats.