An independent advisory panel is recommending a major overhaul of Alberta's electoral map, including increasing the number of provincial ridings from 87 to 91, restoring two previously eliminated constituencies and redrawing boundaries in Calgary, Edmonton and southern Alberta.However, the recommendations have exposed deep divisions among panel members, with the chairman accusing two dissenting members of focusing on constitutional arguments rather than the merits of the proposed changes.The recommendations are contained in the executive summary of the 2026 Independent Advisory Panel on Electoral Boundaries report.The panel was appointed June 9, 2026, by the Select Special Committee of the Legislature on Electoral Boundaries, following a motion approved by the Alberta Legislature on April 21.Its mandate was to divide Alberta into 91 electoral districts and review proposals from the 2025-2026 Electoral Boundaries Commission.The commission had previously proposed increasing the number of constituencies from 87 to 89.The advisory panel recommends restoring the Lac Ste. Anne and Rocky Mountain House-Sundre electoral divisions, both of which had been removed under the commission's proposals.Restoring those ridings would trigger a series of boundary changes across central Alberta, including Spruce Grove, Morinville-St. Albert, Barrhead-Westlock-Athabasca, Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche, West Yellowhead and Drayton Valley-Devon.The panel also recommends renaming Morinville-St. Albert to Morinville-Sturgeon.Changes along the QEII corridor would affect several constituencies, including Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin, Lacombe-Ponoka, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills and Drumheller-Stettler.Under the recommendations, Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin would become Wetaskiwin-Ponoka, Lacombe-Ponoka would become Lacombe-Sylvan Lake, and Innisfail-Sylvan Lake would become Blackfalds-Innisfail.The panel also proposes extending Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills southwest and returning Drumheller-Stettler to its previous boundaries.Another significant recommendation involves replacing the proposed Banff-Kananaskis constituency with a new Banff-Canmore-Diamond Valley riding..The panel argues the new configuration would eliminate the need to designate the riding for special consideration under Section 15(2) of Alberta's electoral boundaries legislation.In the Edmonton region, the panel recommends restoring the Leduc-Beaumont constituency, while creating a new Edmonton-Nisku riding to replace Edmonton-Beaumont.That change would require adjustments to Edmonton-South, Edmonton-Ellerslie and Edmonton-Meadows.The panel also supports changes to Edmonton constituencies south of the North Saskatchewan River, including Edmonton-South, Edmonton-Windermere, Edmonton-Whitemud and Edmonton-Strathcona.Calgary would also see significant proposed changes, particularly along the city's western boundaries.The panel recommends expanding Calgary-North West to include neighbouring Bearspaw communities and Calgary-Bow to include North Springbank.Calgary West would be expanded to include part of South Springbank that the commission had excluded when extending the constituency into Rocky View County.Those changes would also affect Banff-Kananaskis or Canmore-Banff, along with Cochrane-Springbank.Unlike some of the panel's other recommendations, the Calgary proposals do not have unanimous support.The panel also examined electoral boundaries in northeast Calgary but concluded that meaningful improvements would require substantial changes to approximately a dozen constituencies.Rather than recommending immediate changes, it suggested the Legislature or a future electoral boundaries commission undertake a broader review of representation in the area.Southern Alberta would also face proposed changes involving Lethbridge, Lethbridge-Little Bow, Lethbridge-Taber-Warner and Lethbridge-Cardston.The panel recommends reconfiguring those constituencies, along with Livingston-Macleod, although the proposals are not supported by every member.The chairman acknowledged the disagreements in unusually pointed language in the report's executive summary."I am pleased to report that we discharged our mandate as completely as could have been expected in the time the panel was given," he wrote.However, he said too much of the panel's time was spent addressing constitutional and mandate-related objections raised by minority members."With respect to the minority opinion of two members of the advisory panel, all I can say as Chairman is that I failed miserably to have this panel confine itself to the merits or otherwise of its electoral boundaries proposals," he wrote..The chairman accused dissenting members of passing judgment on the constitutionality of the panel's work rather than evaluating the proposed boundaries."The minority's opinion can be summarized quite simply. Our proposals are constitutional; yours are not. Our proposals are non-partisan; yours are not."He rejected those criticisms, arguing the panel's recommendations were lawful and within its assigned mandate."Having read the law governing electoral boundary making, which in many ways is in its infancy in this country, my opinion is that the proposals contained in this report are not unconstitutional," he wrote."They do not offend the Charter. They do not constitute a collateral attack on the 2025-2026 Electoral Boundaries Commission recommendations."The chairman also maintained the proposals did not violate administrative law principles of procedural fairness.He described the minority's constitutional objections as a 40-page critique that went beyond the panel's responsibilities.The report makes clear that several of its most significant recommendations are supported by a majority rather than the entire panel.Despite the internal disagreements, the chairman urged MLAs to evaluate the proposals independently."With respect to all of the panel's proposals, we would urge the Legislature to assess them on their merits, not on which panellists supported or opposed them, or even how many panellists supported or opposed them," he wrote."The test is whether they better achieve fair and effective representation."The recommendations are not final and would require consideration by the Alberta Legislature before any proposed electoral boundary changes could take effect.
