List of Alberta provincial electoral districts

The early 1990s proved to be a contentious period for delineation of electoral districts in Alberta. The Supreme Court of British Columbia ruling in Dixon v. Attorney General of British Columbia in 1989 invalidated the provincial electoral district re-distribution due to wide variations between electoral district populations for British Columbia, finding these differences inconsistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[2] Cognizant of this the Alberta Legislature tasked a Special Committee chaired by Taber-Warner MLA Bob Bogle to evaluate the re-distribution of electoral districts in the province. The Report of the Select Special Committee on Electoral Boundaries was submitted to the Legislature in November 1990[3] and was referred to the Court of Appeal of Alberta. While the Court of Appeals reference found the boundaries consistent with the Charter,[4] the report was scrapped and amendments to the Electoral Divisions Act were introduced in early 1991 to effectively "Charter-proof" the new districts.[5]

The same Select Committee was tasked with creating the new report which was presented to the Legislature in November 1992,[6] and once again referred to the Court of Appeal of Alberta to rule on the constitutional validity of the boundaries. The four Progressive Conservative MLAs on the Select Committee (Bob Bogle, Stockwell Day, Pat Nelson, Mike Cardinal) participated fully in developing the report, while the Opposition refused to appoint any MLAs.[5] Subsequently, the boundaries were implemented and used for the June 1993 Alberta general election. The Court of Appeal of Alberta withheld Charter condemnation, but found numerous issues with the process and requirements put forward for the re-distribution. In particular the members of the Select Committee were unable to provide sufficient rationale to the court for a number of the boundaries and district sizes recommended in the report.[5] The court explicitly voiced the opinion that a proper electoral boundary review was necessary within the term of the present government (which expired in 1997).[7]

Following the issues in the early 1990s, a semi-independent boundary commissions were set up to tweak the boundaries to population changes that occurred after every census. Committees are composed of a neutral Judge, two members appointed by the governing party, and two members appointed by the official opposition.

The 2009/2010 Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission was established on 31 July 2009, and was chaired by Justice J. M. Walter and members included Keith Archer, Peter Dobbie, Brian Evans and Allyson Jeffs.[8] The Final Report by the commission with recommendations was submitted to the legislature on 24 June 2010.[8] The recommendations of the Commission were accepted and the electoral division boundaries were implemented by Bill 28, Electoral Divisions Act.[9]

The 2010 redistribution increased the number of seats in the Alberta Legislative Assembly from 83 to 87, a decision by Premier Ed Stelmach to ensure rural districts would not be removed in the increasingly urban Alberta.[10] The Commission's final report warned that Alberta would have to reevaluate how seats are distributed to rural areas specifically in regards to the province's large northern areas.[10] The report warned that the population discrepancy required to preserve lesser populated rural electoral districts in the face of growing urban districts remained controversial for Albertans and elected representatives.[10]

A minority position in the Commission found the division of Alberta into three geographic areas (Calgary, Edmonton, other) problematic as it effectively ignored fast growing mid-sized cities which were fragmented into hybrid rural-urban constituencies.[10]

Under the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act requires that a Commission be appointed during the first session of the Legislature following every second general election. The Commission requires a non-partisan chair, two government members recommended by the Premier, and two opposition members. Due to the decision by Premier Jim Prentice to call an early election in 2015, the Commission was required to be formed before the prescribed date in time for the next election in 2019.[11] Previous Commissions had provided for modest redistributions in favour of Alberta's cities which according to Political Scientist Roger Epp brought forward "deep rural anxieties" regarding declining population and influence in Alberta.[11]

The Commission was provided with a mandate which kept the size of the Legislature fixed at 87 seats. The Commission was appointed, led by Justice Myra Bielby made only incremental changes adding one new seat in Calgary and Edmonton, as well as a seat in the Airdrie area.[12] The Commission did however make significant statements on the rural-urban divide in Alberta, noting "Alberta is no longer entirely or primarily rural in nature" and a "disproportionate preservation of the rural voice" was no longer acceptable or feasible under law.[12][13] While the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act permits up to four districts to be formed with a population 50 per cent lower than the average population, the Commission only recommended that two of these districts be formed. The districts include Central Peace-Notley which had a population of 28,993 and area of 47,311 km², and Lesser Slave Lake which had a population of 27,818, compared to the average population of electoral districts of 46,803 following redistribution.[14]

A minority opinion was presented by Commission members appointed by the opposition, arguing that Alberta's rate of growth was a threat to "a critical part of our history, culture, and primary economic voice" which is at risk of being lost through continued redistribution.[12][15]

As is the case with nearly every other Canadian jurisdiction, the number of districts has not increased in proportion to the growth in the provincial population. In 1905, 25,000 votes were cast across the province to elect 25 MLAs. In 1982, 945,000 votes, almost 40 times the 1905 total, were cast across the province to choose 79 MLAs, less than four times the 1905 seat total. Prior to the 1986 election the number of districts was fixed by law at 83 thus any change to that number would have to be enacted by the legislature. Even though the population has increased by more than 40 percent between 1986 and 2009, the number of members did not change. Finally due to changes wrought in 2010, the 2012 election saw the number of members increase to 87, where it has stayed despite a 15 percent increase in the provincial population since 2009.[16]

* District has been abolished and re-established.