Bill 31 to add 2 new ridings to Alberta

Justice Minister Mickey Amery can be seen as a press conference in Edmonton on Nov. 5, 2024. (Galen McDougall/CTV News Edmonton)

A new bill from the ruling United Conservative Party (UCP) will add two new seats to Alberta and change how electoral boundaries are considered. 

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Bill 31, the Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, will make amendments to the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act, among other pieces of legislation.

Electoral Boundaries Commission Act

The act outlines how the province's constituencies are created to ensure each Albertan's vote "has relatively the same effect."

If passed, Bill 31 will direct the Electoral Boundaries Commission to create two new ridings in Alberta – for a total of 89 – and change what they may consider in doing so.

Constituencies are legislated to fall generally within more than or less than 25 per cent of the average population of all divisions – or around 56,192 constituents based on July's population data.

The province said nine Alberta ridings currently contain more than 25 per cent than the average.

Bill 31 would also amend the considerations the commission may use in doing that. Those include:

• Population density or sparsity;
• Communities of shared interest, such as municipalities, First Nations or Métis Settlements.
• Geographical features, and communication or transportation between regions;
• The desirability of understandable and clear boundaries;
• The rate of population growth; and
• Any other factors the commission considered appropriate.

Considerations for existing boundaries within Edmonton and Calgary (where possible), as well as other existing municipal boundaries (where possible), would be removed.

Justice Minister Mickey Amery said that means new constituencies could combine smaller municipalities – like St. Albert – with parts of Edmonton.

"If the commission deems it appropriate to connect communities of interest despite the fact that they don't share the same municipal boundary, for example, then that would be OK, because those communities of interest are interconnected in other ways," Amery explained.

"There are certainly multiple areas all across this province that are very closely situated and connected to their major municipal urban centers," he said.

Considerations are not mandatory, and Amery said they are designed to give the commission more "flexibility."

The province said amendments to the act are needed to "ensure effective representation for all Albertans in the legislature" amid significant population growth – reported by the province at 4.4 per cent between July 2023 and 2024.

Amery said the bill is in line with case law and contains similar language and framework as used by British Columbia, which recently increased its number of seats.

Alberta may also be getting a new Electoral Boundaries Commission.

The last one was appointed in 2016, and Amery said a new one could be appointed by the province as early as this fall or as late as October 2026.

"We've not made any decisions whatsoever on what that might consist of or who might be," Amery said.

"But given the work that has to be done … to take in canvassing the entire province, receiving the recommendations and submissions and then providing a report for debate in the legislature. I think it's safe to say that it is likely that we will move sooner rather than later on this."

Population growth was also cited by former Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach in 2010 when the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act was last amended to create four new constituencies.

Other changes

Bill 31 also includes amendments to the following legislation:

• Critical Infrastructure Defence Act
• Alberta Evidence Act
• Public’s Right to Know Act

The Critical Infrastructure Defence Act is responsible for penalties related to trespassing, interference or damage to critical infrastructure.

Amendments will bring in the definitions of that infrastructure – including certain health-care facilities – into the act, allowing the existing Critical Infrastructure Defence Regulation to be repealed.

Changes to the Alberta Evidence Act include allowing people to submit written documents online without visiting courthouse or paying to affirm an oath in person.

Amendments would also eliminate the requirement for a person to object and justify their objection to a religious oath, making it easier to choose a secular oath.

The Public’s Right to Know Act would be amended to give the justice minister the power to require government, municipal and police bodies to provide up-to-date data.