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 as a sub-consultant to 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 was to ensure the ward boundaries and Council structure provided 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 and trends. 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 were prepared and presented to the public for feedback before being considered by Council. As the municipality is undergoing substantial growth, a key challenge of the project was balancing urban and rural interests while ensuring fair representation within each ward into the future.

In September 2025, Council accepted Option B, without amendments. This option, comprised of six wards, provided the best overall mix of favourable parity outcomes while respecting the character and features of the community.

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