New Alberta electoral map proposes vast changes to urban ridings
Matthew Scace ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/matthew-scace/[/url])
Calgary
Alberta’s proposed new provincial electoral boundaries would result in major changes to ridings in Calgary and Lethbridge, expanding their footprints into more rural areas, a prospect that drew accusations of gerrymandering when the map was released publicly on Monday.
The chair of the independent panel that created the map dismissed concerns that the proposed boundaries would violate the Constitution. But Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi promised to file a legal challenge if Premier Danielle Smith’s government adopts the map, saying the new boundaries would hand an electoral edge to Ms. Smith’s United Conservative Party.
Shortly after exiting Question Period, Mr. Nenshi pointed to the U.S.-style practice of manipulating electoral maps to create unfair advantages for a party.
“If the UCP has the nerve to pass this Trump-style, MAGA gerrymandered map, if they have the nerve to cheat to win … we’ll see them in court,” Mr. Nenshi said at a news conference after the report containing the map was tabled in the legislature.
Alberta NDP accuses Smith of gerrymandering as province prepares to unveil new electoral map ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-ndp-accuses-danielle-smith-gerrymandering-new-electoral-map/[/url])
A redrawn electoral map has been the subject of intense debate and scrutiny since April when Ms. Smith rejected the proposed boundaries of a first independent commission.
Alberta’s political boundaries are revised every eight to 10 years by an independent panel, a process designed to foster compromise and limit political influence. For decades, provincial legislatures have routinely adopted the recommendations without question.
Ms. Smith’s decision to upend tradition, however, has fuelled accusations of gerrymandering.
After rejecting the first panel’s proposed map, Ms. Smith’s government formed a UCP-dominated committee that created a new independent panel charged with making a second attempt at drawing the electoral map. It was chaired by retired Alberta judge Brian O’Ferrall, selected by the UCP, and included two members tapped by the NDP and two by the UCP.
Alberta’s electoral boundary changes could reshape the political landscape. These maps show where ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-electoral-boundary-changes-ridings-political-landscape/[/url])
The new report shows the five-person panel was sharply divided on how to proceed with the map, mirroring tensions among the previous group tasked with the redrawing.
The proposed map revealed Monday was drawn by Mr. O’Ferrall and the two members selected by the UCP: Monte Solberg, a former cabinet minister under prime minister Stephen Harper, and Darwin Durnie,who previously co-authored a submission recommending map changes that would see several ridings in Calgary blend with neighbouring rural communities.
In the report, the three jointly write that the panel’s “time and energy were taken up with responding to the indictments of the panel’s minority who suggest that the process of the advisory panel was constitutionally reckless, an abuse of process, and that the panel’s proposals infringed the Charter.”
The two remaining committee members named by the NDP – University of Alberta law professor Gerard Kennedy and former Okotoks, Alta., town councillor Brent Robinson – wrote in a separate report that some of the new recommended ridings would be “constitutionally fraught” and will likely be challenged in court.
It is unclear how long it will take for the government to pass the new map if it decides to adopt it, but it’s expected to be approved before the fall session ends on Dec. 3.
If adopted, the map would most dramatically change the boundaries of Lethbridge, which is currently split into two ridings mostly contained within the city’s borders. One is represented by the NDP, the other by the UCP.
The new map would split Lethbridge into four, with one urban riding encompassing a chunk of the city and three massive urban-rural hybrids surrounding it.
In the report, the three authors in the majority reason that hybrid ridings can “help cities receive the representation they need” and “help rural electoral divisions obtain the population they need to be relatively compact and manageable.”
Prof. Kennedy and Mr. Robinson, meanwhile, charged the other commissioners with packing voters into the highly condensed Lethbridge riding while diluting the city’s remaining residents in rural areas that extend hundreds of kilometres beyond city limits.
“This makes it easier for the party who drew the boundaries to win additional seats,” the two wrote, adding that while they accept the panelists believe they’re improving effective representation, they are concerned the public won’t believe them.
In Calgary, the three-person majority recommended creating new boundaries that amalgamate three urban ridings in west Calgary with neighbouring rural constituencies.
Much of the UCP’s political support is based in rural Alberta, while the NDP’s strength lies in Calgary and Edmonton.
The panelists also disagreed on how much they should edit the proposed map recommended by the chair of the previous panel, Court of King’s Bench judge Dallas K. Miller.
The majority authors wrote that Mr. Miller’s recommendation “does not deserve deification,” while Prof. Kennedy and Mr. Robinson argued the panel didn’t have a mandate to overhaul parts of Alberta’s boundaries.
The new map is expected to be the subject of debate in the Alberta Legislature on Tuesday. So far, Ms. Smith’s government has rejected calls to reverse course.
On Sunday, Alberta’s Justice Minister batted away Elections Alberta’s request for the government to either not approve the new electoral maps or postpone next year’s provincial election to give the agency sufficient time to prepare.
The government “has no intention” of shifting next year’s Oct. 18 fixed election date, Justice Minister Mickey Amery wrote in a statement.
Mr. Amery was responding to a letter from provincial chief electoral officer Gordon McClure, who on Friday circulated a letter to MLAs imploring them to reconsider ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-elections-alberta-urges-mlas-to-hold-off-on-approving-new-electoral/[/url]) implementing the new electoral boundaries.
Mr. McClure said Elections Alberta’s resources are strained and that the agency would need 12 to 18 months to implement the new map with 91 ridings, up from 87.
Matthew Scace ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/matthew-scace/[/url])
Calgary
Alberta’s proposed new provincial electoral boundaries would result in major changes to ridings in Calgary and Lethbridge, expanding their footprints into more rural areas, a prospect that drew accusations of gerrymandering when the map was released publicly on Monday.
The chair of the independent panel that created the map dismissed concerns that the proposed boundaries would violate the Constitution. But Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi promised to file a legal challenge if Premier Danielle Smith’s government adopts the map, saying the new boundaries would hand an electoral edge to Ms. Smith’s United Conservative Party.
Shortly after exiting Question Period, Mr. Nenshi pointed to the U.S.-style practice of manipulating electoral maps to create unfair advantages for a party.
“If the UCP has the nerve to pass this Trump-style, MAGA gerrymandered map, if they have the nerve to cheat to win … we’ll see them in court,” Mr. Nenshi said at a news conference after the report containing the map was tabled in the legislature.
Alberta NDP accuses Smith of gerrymandering as province prepares to unveil new electoral map ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-ndp-accuses-danielle-smith-gerrymandering-new-electoral-map/[/url])
A redrawn electoral map has been the subject of intense debate and scrutiny since April when Ms. Smith rejected the proposed boundaries of a first independent commission.
Alberta’s political boundaries are revised every eight to 10 years by an independent panel, a process designed to foster compromise and limit political influence. For decades, provincial legislatures have routinely adopted the recommendations without question.
Ms. Smith’s decision to upend tradition, however, has fuelled accusations of gerrymandering.
After rejecting the first panel’s proposed map, Ms. Smith’s government formed a UCP-dominated committee that created a new independent panel charged with making a second attempt at drawing the electoral map. It was chaired by retired Alberta judge Brian O’Ferrall, selected by the UCP, and included two members tapped by the NDP and two by the UCP.
Alberta’s electoral boundary changes could reshape the political landscape. These maps show where ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-electoral-boundary-changes-ridings-political-landscape/[/url])
The new report shows the five-person panel was sharply divided on how to proceed with the map, mirroring tensions among the previous group tasked with the redrawing.
The proposed map revealed Monday was drawn by Mr. O’Ferrall and the two members selected by the UCP: Monte Solberg, a former cabinet minister under prime minister Stephen Harper, and Darwin Durnie,who previously co-authored a submission recommending map changes that would see several ridings in Calgary blend with neighbouring rural communities.
In the report, the three jointly write that the panel’s “time and energy were taken up with responding to the indictments of the panel’s minority who suggest that the process of the advisory panel was constitutionally reckless, an abuse of process, and that the panel’s proposals infringed the Charter.”
The two remaining committee members named by the NDP – University of Alberta law professor Gerard Kennedy and former Okotoks, Alta., town councillor Brent Robinson – wrote in a separate report that some of the new recommended ridings would be “constitutionally fraught” and will likely be challenged in court.
It is unclear how long it will take for the government to pass the new map if it decides to adopt it, but it’s expected to be approved before the fall session ends on Dec. 3.
If adopted, the map would most dramatically change the boundaries of Lethbridge, which is currently split into two ridings mostly contained within the city’s borders. One is represented by the NDP, the other by the UCP.
The new map would split Lethbridge into four, with one urban riding encompassing a chunk of the city and three massive urban-rural hybrids surrounding it.
In the report, the three authors in the majority reason that hybrid ridings can “help cities receive the representation they need” and “help rural electoral divisions obtain the population they need to be relatively compact and manageable.”
Prof. Kennedy and Mr. Robinson, meanwhile, charged the other commissioners with packing voters into the highly condensed Lethbridge riding while diluting the city’s remaining residents in rural areas that extend hundreds of kilometres beyond city limits.
“This makes it easier for the party who drew the boundaries to win additional seats,” the two wrote, adding that while they accept the panelists believe they’re improving effective representation, they are concerned the public won’t believe them.
In Calgary, the three-person majority recommended creating new boundaries that amalgamate three urban ridings in west Calgary with neighbouring rural constituencies.
Much of the UCP’s political support is based in rural Alberta, while the NDP’s strength lies in Calgary and Edmonton.
The panelists also disagreed on how much they should edit the proposed map recommended by the chair of the previous panel, Court of King’s Bench judge Dallas K. Miller.
The majority authors wrote that Mr. Miller’s recommendation “does not deserve deification,” while Prof. Kennedy and Mr. Robinson argued the panel didn’t have a mandate to overhaul parts of Alberta’s boundaries.
The new map is expected to be the subject of debate in the Alberta Legislature on Tuesday. So far, Ms. Smith’s government has rejected calls to reverse course.
On Sunday, Alberta’s Justice Minister batted away Elections Alberta’s request for the government to either not approve the new electoral maps or postpone next year’s provincial election to give the agency sufficient time to prepare.
The government “has no intention” of shifting next year’s Oct. 18 fixed election date, Justice Minister Mickey Amery wrote in a statement.
Mr. Amery was responding to a letter from provincial chief electoral officer Gordon McClure, who on Friday circulated a letter to MLAs imploring them to reconsider ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-elections-alberta-urges-mlas-to-hold-off-on-approving-new-electoral/[/url]) implementing the new electoral boundaries.
Mr. McClure said Elections Alberta’s resources are strained and that the agency would need 12 to 18 months to implement the new map with 91 ridings, up from 87.