Federal electoral districts redistribution 2022

The Proposal

The Commission was established by Order-in-Council, proclaimed on November 1, 2021. While the Commission undertook some preliminary work thereafter, it was able to commence the formal part of its work only on February 9, 2022, when it received the official decennial-census data from Elections Canada.

The Act requires each province's commission to prepare a proposed redistribution plan (Proposal) and to hold at least one public hearing following advertisement of the Proposal in the Canada Gazette and in at least one newspaper of general circulation. Notice of the times and places fixed for any public hearings is also included in the advertisements.

Before preparing its Proposal, the Commission, through its website, invited comments and suggestions from the public; it received 511 written responses during the period commencing early in February and ending on November 1, 2022.

The Commission had access to data from the Chief Statistician of Canada. In addition, it considered general public information about the province's geography, history, regional plans, maps, First Nations reserves and Metis settlements. The Commission did not review any polling or voting data in arriving at its recommendations.

The Commission's Proposal was published in the Canada Gazette on June 25, 2022. Inserts explaining the Proposal were placed in 13 newspapers, and quarter-page advertisements appeared in 97 publications throughout Alberta. In addition, the Commission sent a letter, dated February 16, 2022, to all Alberta Members of Parliament (MPs) explaining the process and asking them to include information about the Commission and its role in their newsletters to constituents. The Chair also participated in seven media interviews. The Commission's Proposal and schedule of public hearings were posted on the Commission website.

In the Proposal, none of the 37 proposed electoral districts varied from the electoral quota by more than 5%, plus or minus. The largest proposed electoral district had a population of 120,917, or 4.96% above the electoral quota. The smallest had a population of 110,350, or 4.22% under the electoral quota.