Ward Boundary Review | City of Welland

Location

Welland, Ontario

Client

City of Welland

Dates

2025

Services

GIS Services

Geospatial Analysis

Statistical Analysis

Population Modeling

Mapping

Team

StrategyCorp

In April 2025, Sajecki Planning Inc. was retained along with StrategyCorp StrategyCorp by the City of Welland to conduct a Council Composition and Ward Boundary Review ahead of the 2026 municipal election. The municipality spans an area of approximately 80 km2 in Southern Ontario. The purpose of the review is to ensure the ward boundaries and Council structure provide a system of effective and equitable representation through 2034.

Sajecki Planning undertook geospatial and statistical analysis to support the creation of the new ward boundary options. The review began with an in-depth analysis of the current population’s distribution across the municipality. Sajecki Planning and StrategyCorp then worked with the municipality to accurately project population growth through 2034 based primarily on development application information. The projected growth of permanent and seasonal residents and out of town students was modeled.

Based on these projections and considerations for community interests and the extent of natural features, new ward boundary options will be prepared and presented to the public for feedback before being considered by Council. A key challenge of the project is balancing urban and rural interests and ensuring fair representation within each ward.