Alberta's electoral boundaries could be getting a redesign, and Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr is recommending local constituents give their input.
“It's something that's important to all of us, because in the end we want to make sure we're adequately represented.”
The Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission was formed in the fall of 2016, and is a non-partisan group comprised of five members. They are tasked with studying the current boundaries in the province, and making proposals to the Legislative Assembly as to where changes in the boundary areas or names should be made.
“As Alberta's population changes, we have to anticipate that we need to recheck our boundaries every once in a while to make sure they're appropriate. What you don't want is really big populations being under represented, or small populations being over represented. A boundary review is actually a healthy thing,” explained Cyr.
However, he noted that there is a concern when it comes to ensuring there is still adequate rural representation.
“The one concern I've heard out in the community is that some of the seats will be moved towards Edmonton and Calgary.”
With 87 provincial constituencies, the ideal average population for each of the ridings sits at 49,000.
According to Cyr, Alberta's two largest urban centres have a combined population of about 2.1 million – or almost half of the province's 4.3 million people. With the current boundaries, there is already half of the 87 seats going to Calgary and Edmonton ridings. However, a number of those are estimated to be over the 49,000 people per constituency.
The estimate for the Bonnyville – Cold Lake riding is 39,696 people.
“The big thing here is that we want to ensure rural voices still have meaning. If they start to draw our ridings and constituencies towards the bigger centres, than communities like Cold Lake and Bonnyville cease to being heard,” said Cyr. “Edmonton and Calgary do hold large populations, but in relation to rural Alberta we hold just as much of the population. I do think the boundary commission needs to keep that in mind.”
The Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission is in the midst of collecting input from the public, through public hearings and online submissions. In the first round of public hearings, the closest meeting to the Bonnyville – Cold Lake riding is being held in St. Paul on Jan. 23 at 1 p.m. at the Canalta Hotel.
There is also a second round of public hearings planned for the summer. Alternatively, the commission is also accepting online or written submissions until Feb. 8.
While he doesn't foresee there being much change locally, Cyr encourages everyone to make their concerns or input heard.
“Overall, right now it looks like our boundaries are going to be pretty stable, but you can't tell until everything's been said and done... There's going to be a concern moving forward depending on what's being said at these hearings. If there are any concerns, I would also encourage anyone to call my office.”
For more information on the electoral boundaries review, public hearings, or to make an online submission, visit www.abebc.ca.
