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OTTAWA — The vast majority of lakes that retain federal protection under the government’s proposed changes to waterway rules lap up against ridings held by Conservative MPs.

While revisions to the Navigable Waters Protection Act has stripped federal oversight from thousands of Canadian waterways, 90 per cent of the lakes that will still be designated as protected are in Tory territory, a Citizen analysis shows.

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By contrast, only 20 per cent of the designated lakes, itemized in the second omnibus budget bill, are in ridings held by New Democrats. Only six per cent splash on Liberal shores.

The list of lakes includes those surrounded by wealthy cottagers north of Toronto, in the Muskoka district of the riding held by Treasury Board President Tony Clement.

The Conservatives’ budget bill introduced earlier this month overhauls the Navigable Waters Protection Act, which currently requires federal approval for development on the thousands of bodies of water across the country that are big enough to float a canoe.