About the Commission

The Electoral Boundaries Commission is an independent commission established under the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act  to make proposals to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta on the area, boundaries and names of the electoral divisions of Alberta  The Commission is made up of a Chair, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, two persons appointed by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on nomination of the Leader of the Official Opposition, and two persons appointed by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on the nomination of the Premier and President of Executive Council. For each set of two appointees nominated, one must reside in a city and the other reside in an area outside a city 

The function of the Commission is to review the existing electoral boundaries established under the Electoral Divisions Act, and to make proposals to the Legislative Assembly as to the area, boundaries, and names of the electoral divisions of Alberta.

The Commission is to follow certain redistribution rules set out in Part 2 of the Act, the following:

• There will be 89 proposed electoral divisions.
• The Commission must take into account the population of proposed electoral divisions. A proposed electoral division must not be more than 25% above or below the average population of all the proposed electoral divisions, with the exception of a maximum of four proposed electoral divisions that the Commission is of the opinion meet certain criteria (set out in section 15(2) of the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act) to allow them to be as much as 50% below the average population of all proposed electoral divisions.
• The Commission must also take into consideration the requirement for effective representation as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and in so doing, may take into consideration the following criteria (set out in section 14 of the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act):
  • sparsity, density, and rate of growth of the population;
  • communities of interest;
  • geographical features;
  • the availability and means of communication and transportation between various parts of Alberta;
  • the desirability of understandable and clear boundaries;
  • other factors the Commission considers appropriate.

The Commission must submit to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly within 7 months of the date on which the Commission is appointed, a first report outlining the areas, boundaries, and names of the proposed electoral divisions and the reasons for the proposed boundaries. 

The Electoral Boundaries Commission is required to hold public meetings before submitting its first report to the Speaker, and additional hearings after that report is made public. 

The Commission may, within 5 months of submitting the first report and after considering further representations, submit to the Speaker a final report.