The Cypress Hills-Grasslands federal riding could have a new name by the next time an election rolls around.

Last month the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Saskatchewan unveiled its proposed changes to the province's 14 electoral districts. A process carried out every 10 years after the census as part of the Constitution of Canada.

Georgina Jackson, the chair of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Saskatchewan, said roughly 90 per cent of the election boundaries change every decade.

"Every ten years there are significant population and demographic shifts that require the boundaries to be re-examined," she said.

Saskatchewan's population blossomed by nearly 100,000 residents when comparing the 2011 and 2021 census. Accounting for less than 1 per cent of that growth is the Cypress-Hills Grasslands riding (adding 480 people) to bring the region's population to 68,134. Because that figure is 15 per cent shy of the provincial quota of 80,893, it forces the commission to try and reshape it.

"That is one of the matters that the commission has to consider, is how large to make Cypress-Hills-Grasslands in terms of territory, so as to bring it closer to population parity," she explained.

"The Cypress-Hills-Grasslands and Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan should now be re-configured so that those boundaries of those districts run east and west, rather than north and south," she said.

The proposed alterations would see Moose Jaw joining the southwest boundary of Cypress-Hill Grasslands to form Moose Jaw-Swift Current-Grasslands. While towns like Kindersley (Kindersley-Rosetown) and Assiniboia (Souris-Moose Mountain) would join different districts.

Before the changes become permanent, 15 public hearings will be held throughout Saskatchewan starting on June 20. Swift Current's Coast Hotel will house one on June 30.

Once the public has their input heard, the commission will spend the rest of the summer and part of the fall crafting a final report to file with the House of Commons.

"A special committee at the House of Commons will examine all the reports from across the country," she said. "The House of Commons committee can ask and suggest for changes to be made, all of that comes back to the commission again. The commission reviews further the comments that are received and then prepares the basis of a report that would be filed with the House of Commons."

Jackson doesn't anticipate the new electoral map will be brought into legislation until sometime in 2024.

New ridingsThe proposed new ridings