Alberta Reopens Electoral Map, Putting Bow Valley Boundaries Back on the Table

Alberta’s government plans to reopen the province’s electoral boundary process, rather than adopting an independent commission’s recommendations, in favour of a new MLA-led review, a move critics say raises concerns about political interference.

The United Conservative Party government says it plans to restart the process of drawing Alberta’s electoral map by creating a committee of MLAs to oversee a new panel tasked with redrawing electoral boundaries. That new map could increase the number of ridings and seats in the legislature to 91. The move would replace the recommendations of the independent Electoral Boundaries Commission, which in March proposed a smaller increase from 87 to 89 ridings after more than a year of public consultation and analysis.

Banff-Kananaskis MLA Sarah Elmeligi said the decision to reopen the process undermines the independence of a system designed to ensure fair representation.

“As soon as you have politicians redrawing riding boundaries, you lose all objectivity and independence in the process,” she said.

The Electoral Boundaries Commission, an independent panel led by retired judge Dallas Miller, was set up in 2025 to review and redraw Alberta’s electoral map. Over the course of its work, it gathered input from more than 1,100 written submissions, along with in-person and online public hearings, before releasing its final recommendations. Most members of the commission supported a new provincewide map that closely followed an earlier draft and incorporated feedback from the public.

That map included replacing the existing Banff-Kananaskis riding with a new Canmore-Banff constituency, largely keeping Bow Valley communities together while adjusting surrounding boundaries to account for population growth around Calgary.

A separate report written by two commissioners appointed by the government proposed a very different version of the electoral map. It suggested creating more ridings that combine parts of cities with surrounding rural areas, and different boundary options in the Bow Valley that would group communities together in new ways, rather than keeping existing regional connections intact.

Most members of the commission rejected that alternative plan, saying it didn’t reflect what they heard from the public and could make it harder for communities to be properly represented by their elected officials. In its final report, the commission also warned that adopting the minority proposal could raise fairness concerns and might lead to court challenges.

UCP caucus chair Brandon Lunty said a committee of MLAs would oversee a new panel tasked with creating a map for a legislature with 91 seats, and that this new process would not be required to include additional public hearings.

Premier Danielle Smith has defended the move as an effort to ensure effective representation, particularly for rural areas facing large geographic distances and population changes. Speaking at an unrelated press conference on April 17, she said she believes “effective representation won out,” denied accusations the changes are politically motivated and described the approach as “an elegant solution.” She has also rejected claims the changes amount to gerrymandering.

Elmeligi said the government’s justification does not align with the purpose of the commission’s work.

“That majority report from the Boundaries Commission is what should be accepted by the legislature,” she said, adding the process already accounted for population shifts and input from Albertans across the province.

She said if the government believed additional seats were necessary, it could have directed the commission to revise its work rather than starting over.

Elections Alberta has also raised concerns about the timeline for implementing new boundaries ahead of the next provincial election, scheduled for October 2027. The agency has said it typically requires at least 18 months to two years to update systems, establish polling locations and educate voters following a redistribution. A new review completed later this year would leave significantly less time to prepare.

Elmeligi said the compressed timeline adds another layer of uncertainty, noting that no new map has yet been produced under the proposed process.

“We don’t have any maps,” she said. “The timeline is very tight for Elections Alberta to incorporate new riding maps by the time we actually have a provincial election in 2027.”

Beyond logistical concerns, she said reopening the process risks disregarding the input of Albertans who participated in consultations, adding that this is especially important for rural ridings, where communities are diverse and rely on public input to ensure their distinct needs are properly reflected in how boundaries are drawn.

She pointed to the extensive engagement undertaken by the commission, which included written, virtual and in-person submissions from residents, municipal leaders and community organizations.

Elmeligi said removing public consultation in a new process would make it more difficult to ensure communities with shared interests are grouped together effectively, particularly in rural regions where local contexts can vary widely.

“No one politician or even a group of politicians will truly understand all of the uniqueness of the different rural communities across the province,” she said.

While the government has not released a new map, Elmeligi said the prospect of political involvement in drawing boundaries raises concerns about how communities could be grouped in future proposals and could be seen as gerrymandering, the practice of redrawing boundaries to benefit a political party.

“If you’re not gerrymandering, just accept the majority report from the Boundaries Commission,” she said. “The work is done.”

The proposed review is expected to unfold over the coming months, with a new set of boundaries anticipated later this year. Any final map would still need to be passed by the legislature before taking effect for the next election.

The move represents a shift from the traditional approach to electoral redistribution in Alberta, where independent commissions have typically guided the process with limited changes from elected officials.