Will someone clue me as to the meaning of a riding?
There are currently 308 ridings in Canada. The number and boundaries are adjusted following each dicennial census. Each riding elects one member of parliament. There are also provincial ridings whose boundaries are most likely not the same as the federal ones. This is because the number of members of a provincial Legislature are usually different than the numbar of members that the Province sends to Ottaws. During the Harris government in Ontario, the number of provincial ridings were reduced to correspond to the number of federal ridings in the province and the riding boundaries were made the same. During the same mandate, The number of city council wards in Toronto were reduced to be twice the number of Toronto ridings.
This would not be practical for provinces with a small population because it would result in a Provincial legislature with too few members. The same with smaller cities and towns.
Clive
I know it is confusing for Americans who are not familiar with Parliamentary systems. In my very humble opinion, your Republic is a superior system in the aim to reduce the power of government and secure the freedom of individuals - however, the Parliamentary form is far superior than the models that most European nations are built on. One exception may be the Swiss Confederacy. The Cantons have tremendous amount of power and independence. The one problem I have with the Swiss is the requirement to serve in the military. That seems to be a violation of individual rights.