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Alberta Politics

Municipal Census a snapshot of how Edmonton’s Electoral Boundaries will be redrawn

The City of Edmonton municipal census released yesterday could give some indication into how provincial electoral boundaries in the city will be redrawn for the next election.

Current electoral boundaries in Edmonton, drawn in 2010, with the results of the 2015 election.
Current electoral boundaries in Edmonton, drawn in 2010, with the results of the 2015 election.

An Electoral Boundaries Commission will be appointed by October 31, 2016 and will propose changes to Alberta’s provincial constituency boundaries to reflect population changes and shifts since the last time the boundaries were redrawn in 2010.

Bill 7: Electoral Boundaries Commission Amendment Act, introduced by Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley in April 2016 adjusted the timelines for the commission and clarified the commissioners authority to consider municipal population information, such as a municipal census.

Overall, Edmonton’s population has increased by 117,008 since the 2009 Census and Alberta’s population has grown by more than 500,000 since our provincial electoral boundaries were last redrawn in 2010.

With the municipal census showing Edmonton is becoming more suburban, we should expect the boundary commission will redraw the city’s provincial electoral districts to reflect this growth in suburban neighbourhoods.

2 replies on “Municipal Census a snapshot of how Edmonton’s Electoral Boundaries will be redrawn”

I also wonder about Grande Prairie, whose population was announced to be just under 69,000 after last year’s municipal census, which took place just as the oilpatch slowdown was starting to develop. StatsCan will start releasing its initial 2016 results, such as population counts, in Feb 2017; it will be interesting to see whether the deepening oilpatch downturn will be reflected in any reduction in this city’s population.

Right now, Grande Prairie’s provincial representation is split between two mixed urban-rural ridings, with everything north of 100 Avenue (aka Richmond Ave) in Grande Prairie-Smoky, and south of 100 Ave in GP-Wapiti. One wonders whether it is time for a single, urban-only riding for the City.

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