Herschell Sax

I was Elections Canada's subject matter expert for redistribution (boundary delimitation) for eighteen years (1993-2011) until my retirement. My responsibilities included the operational planning for the redistribution process, the provision of all services to all federal electoral boundaries commissions and ongoing research and analysis activities for the redistributions based on the 1991 and 2001 censuses and setting out the framework for Elections Canada's participation for the 2011 census-based redistribution. I have held the positions of Assistant Director, Operations for which I was responsible for Elections Canada's Electoral Geography Division, and Assistant Director, Parliamentary Representation, the focus of which was centered on redistribution. I have represented Canada abroad on the subject of redistribution both as a participant in international working groups and as a featured speaker in conferences on redistribution in the U.S.A., Mexico, Barbados and Jamaica. I also met with all foreign delegations to Elections Canada on the subject of redistribution. In addition, I was responsible for facilitating the vote to Canadians in remote locations in Canada, and electors temporarily abroad during election periods. As well, I was the main contact for Canadian embassies and consulates regarding electoral matters during the election period. I have also acted as Deputy Returning Officer for the province of Ontario during provincial elections. I was in attendance at all House of Commons committee meetings (over an approximate eighteen month period) as a subject matter expert on their consideration of the redistribution process. Along with the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, I appeared on several occasions as an expert witness and as a resource person at meetings of the House of Commons committee on Procedure and House Affairs and at the Senate Committee for Legal and Constitutional Affairs on the subject of redistribution. I hold a Bachelor's degree from the University of Akron (Ohio) and a Master's degree from the University of Ottawa.

Thematic Areas of Expertise