Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Richmond Centre (electoral district)

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Legislature
  
House of Commons

First contested
  
1988

District webpage
  
profile, map

Elector
  
67,734

District created
  
1987

Last contested
  
2015

Province
  
British Columbia

Richmond Centre (electoral district)

MP
  
Alice Wong Conservative

Census divisions
  
Metro Vancouver Regional District, Richmond

Richmond Centre (French: Richmond-Centre; formerly Richmond) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988.

Contents

Geography

The electoral district comprises the western part of the City of Richmond.

Demographics

According to the 2006 Census, 61% of the residents of this riding are immigrants; in particular, 40.5% of the total population of the Richmond riding are immigrants from Eastern Asia, which is the highest such percentage for all Canadian federal riding; 14.6% have immigrated from Hong Kong, again the highest such figure for a federal riding.

With respect to visible minority status, 50.2% of the population are Chinese; indeed, it is the riding with the largest Chinese population (56,940) in all of Canada, and also the only federal electoral district where a single visible minority is the majority. In terms of ethnic origin (where multiple responses are counted) the figure for residents of Chinese ethnic origin reaches 55.2%, which is likewise the highest such percentage in Canada.

17.8% of population are native speakers of Cantonese, 15.6% of not otherwise specified Chinese, and 13.4% of Mandarin, thus making Richmond the top riding in each of these categories. The same goes for Chinese varieties as a group, which are the mother tongue for 48.4% of Richmond's population, the highest such percentage for a Canadian federal electoral district. The Richmond riding also holds Canadian records for speakers of Cantonese as a home language (15.8% of the total population), Mandarin as a home language (11.8%), and any language of the other Chinese varieties as a home language (39.7%).

Retail trade and the service sector (professional, scientific, technical services) are the major sources of employment in Richmond. 32% of residents over the age of 25 years have obtained a university certificate or degree. The average family income is over $72,000. Unemployment is around 5.9%. This riding is home to many Asian-themed malls and businesses, such as Aberdeen Centre and is home to the Vancouver International Airport.

History

The district was created in 1987 from parts of Richmond—South Delta. In 2003, more parts of Delta—South Richmond were added to it.

The 2012 electoral redistribution saw this riding renamed Richmond Centre and lost territory to Steveston—Richmond East for the 2015 election.

Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following Members of Parliament:

Current Member of Parliament

Its Member of Parliament is Dr. Alice Wong, a businesswoman and educator. She is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. During the 40th Parliament, she served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism, and as a member on the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.

References

Richmond Centre (electoral district) Wikipedia