Sure, it's "tiny", even by population standards, but that doesn't make us less "rural".
That doesn't change the fact that just because a place is rural doesn't mean it should somehow get more, without the numbers of people to legitimize the extra representation.
So what's the breakdown of Vancouver Island into it's districts/ridings, by population, vs that of Victoria?
Break it down.
According to Stat's Can, the total population for Van. Island is 864,864 as of 2021. ~400,000 live in/around Victoria.
Break it down more:
en.wikipedia.org
The majority of Vancouver Island's population lives in the
Capital Regional District, more specifically in the
primate city and the provincial capital of
Victoria. With a population of 397,237 (2021),
Greater Victoria is the island's largest population centre and one of its two
census metropolitan areas. The island's other metropolitan area is
Nanaimo, which has a population of 115,459 as of 2021.
[36] There are also five census agglomeration areas (
Alberni Valley,
Campbell River,
Comox Valley,
Cowichan Valley, and
Oceanside) as defined by
Statistics Canada.
Okay, so with that cleared up.
The electoral districts on the Island.
So I take it when you talk of North Vancouver Island, you mean North Island/Powell River?
Break that down:
Last Census was 2021 and it recorded 111,825 people living in the district.
(But just in case, gonna throw in Courtenay-Alberni too, with 125,116 as of 2021)
Now, what 'bout that "Victoria" area (I'm going to assume you mean Victoria itself, and the other districts surrounding it?)
First the need to point out that yes, the south DOES have more people, that's a fact.
What's ALSO a fact is it's not all just one combined area, but the region is broken up into its own districts. Each of those have an MP of their own.
The numbers of people in those districts:
Victoria itself: 91,867 (oh shit, looks like this district should be re-zoned! It's actually underrepresented compared to all others)
The Saanich-Gulf Island: 113,541
Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke: 128,644
Now that's the Immediate Victoria "area".
But what the hell, let's throw in the other districts.
Nanimo-Ladysmith: 134,509
Cowichan-Malahaj-Langford: 124,247
Note that in 2022 there was a look at redistricting in BC.
https://redecoupage-redistribution-2022.ca/com/bc/prop/othaut/int_e.aspx
FYI, here's how things are broken up by Elections Canada:
Information on the readjustment of electoral boundaries and representation in the House of Commons of Canada.
www.elections.ca
NB has 7 total seats for our population. Guess how many just Van. Island has on its own?
7.
But it's only PART of the Province. You still have 36 seats left to fill from the mainland. 7 is ALL NB gets. So yeah, we're tiny, but we're RURAL. So is NS, so is PEI, so is NL.
Add it all up, our pitiful 23 voices get squashed by your 43. Hell, the Maritimes only beat Saskatchewan and Manitoba combined only by 1. Individually, NS beats us out by 2, thanks to their population growth.
After all that, the only thing to say is...
No, the North does NOT need any further representation, as what it currently has is EQUAL to what is already in the South, per population.
What the issue is, is that those voting in the south are voting for the parties YOU don't like, and that has you butthurt and thinking that they're over-represented.
Again, you want more people to represent a region, bring in more people to live there, drive up the numbers, get more districts made and push for the party you want in, to be in.