EDMONTON — A UCP-led committee overseeing Alberta's electoral boundaries restructuring picked retired Alberta Justice Brian O'Ferrall to head the political boundaries redesign panel, despite questions from Alberta NDP members about whether he would be impartial. O'Ferrall was one of two individuals to apply for the position on the panel that has been the centre of Alberta NDP complaints since the UCP elected to accept only part of the Electoral Boundaries Commission's majority report, submitted in March. Premier Danielle Smith’s government has said the panel will be charged with taking the majority report's maps and reinserting two rural ridings that the review commission subtracted, replacing them with additional seats in Calgary and Edmonton. .O'Ferrall fit the job description to chair the committee after serving on the Alberta Court of Appeals from 2011 to 2022. The committee's NDP representatives raised no questions about whether O'Ferrall's professional career met the job requirements, but they expressed concern that he had made prior donations of $1,000 and $500 to the UCP in 2022 and 2024. "Today, the UCP appointed a chair to the advisory panel on Electoral Boundaries," reads a statement from the NDP's committee members. "The Acting Chief Justice, Canadian Bar Association, and the Law Society declined to participate in this process citing its irregularity. As a result, only two applicants came forward." "Additionally, the appointed Chair made donations to the UCP as recently as 2025. In a process that is already regarded by the public as illegitimate, this clear partisan leaning does nothing to restore legitimacy. Instead, it continues to show that this is about the UCP drawing a partisan map."UCP committee members defended O'Farrell by saying he is allowed to participate politically in his personal life, and refuted claims that he will favour their party when leading the redesign. The remainder of the boundaries panel will be appointed by each party’s committee members, with both the UCP and NDP selecting two individuals to join O'Ferrall. Once formed, the panel will be tasked with submitting a recommended set of maps to the Select Special Committee on Electoral Boundaries, which will then table a report to the Legislative Assembly.
