PART II

Reasons for Boundary Proposals Before the Public Hearings

The addition of two new seats together with the shift in population to urban centres led the Commission to recommend major changes in the distribution of Alberta's electoral districts. In so doing, the Commission was mindful of constitutional and statutory requirements. The Commission did not identify any extraordinary circumstances that would justify departing from the normal 25 percent deviation limit. In no case was the population of any proposed electoral district more than 25 percent above or more than 25 percent below the electoral quota of 106,243. The largest electoral district recommended by the Commission had a 2001 decennial census population of 121,957, or 14.8 percent above the electoral quota; the smallest had a population of 88,544, or 16.7 percent below the electoral quota. Most of the proposed electoral districts were close to the province's electoral quota: 82 percent were within 10 percent, 50 percent were within 5 percent, and 25 percent within 2 percent. In drawing the proposed boundaries, moreover, the Commission attempted to take account of information regarding areas of growth and recent development that are not reflected in the 2001 decennial census.

The 2001 census data shows that there has been rapid population growth in the two large urban centres of Calgary and Edmonton, although the patterns differ somewhat. The Commission was of the view that it is important to provide for effective representation for the population in these large urban areas. The City of Calgary ("Calgary") has grown rapidly within its municipal boundaries and the Commission recommended that one of the new seats in Alberta go to Calgary, which would bring its total to eight. The City of Edmonton's ("Edmonton") population has also grown, but the surrounding urban population has increased even more. The Commission proposed that in order to adequately reflect the urban population in Edmonton and its environs, the region be rearranged into eight electoral districts. The Commission believed that the recommended changes would not only meet the representational needs of Calgary and the Edmonton region, but also restore the historical equality of representation between the two. In addition, the Commission recommended that a reconfigured electoral district of Red Deer be established in the increasingly populated corridor between Edmonton and Calgary. The remainder of the province would have 11 electoral districts, most of which would undergo boundary changes.

City of Calgary

In 2001, Calgary's population was 878,866, or 168,071 more than the 1991 census. Dividing this number by eight would give Calgary's electoral districts an average population of 109,858, which is 3.4 percent above the electoral quota. The Commission proposed to add a new Calgary electoral district in a way that maintained the city's traditional "hub-perimeter" pattern of representation, based on a relatively stable inner city population and rapidly growing suburbs. Accordingly, it recommended that two new electoral districts: Calgary North Centre and Calgary South Centre be created in central Calgary. The former would consist of the northern portion of the current Calgary Centre electoral district, the southern portion of Calgary–Nose Hill and the western section of Calgary Northeast. The latter would be an amalgam of the southern portion of the existing Calgary Centre electoral district, the eastern section of Calgary West and the northern portion of Calgary Southwest. The Commission also recommended that the electoral district of Calgary East, which has experienced more modest population growth than other perimeter electoral districts, be extended southward to include the northern portion of the Calgary Southeast electoral district. These changes would allow the remaining electoral districts: Calgary–Nose Hill, Calgary Northeast, Calgary West, Calgary Southwest and Calgary Southeast, to accommodate anticipated population growth.

Edmonton Region

Edmonton is surrounded by eight sizable communities, the furthest of which is about 10 kilometres from the city limits. These are: St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Devon and Beaumont. In 2001, Edmonton's population was 666,104, or 49,363 higher than the 1991 census; that of the surrounding area was approximately 181,000; therefore, the combined population of Edmonton and its surrounding area ("the Edmonton Region") was approximately 847,104. Dividing this population by eight seats would yield an average electoral district size of 105,888 or 1 percent below the electoral quota.

The Commission observed that there has been growing recognition that although the Edmonton Region encompasses several distinct and historically unique communities, there are many points of common interest and co-operation concerning coordination of infrastructure, transportation, health care and services. These include: the Capital Region Wastewater Commission (which coordinates wastewater transmission and treatment), the Alberta Capital Region Alliance (which focuses on developing transportation priorities), the Edmonton Regional Airport Authority, and the Capital Health Authority (which provides core health services to the region). A large proportion of the wage earners in surrounding communities work in Edmonton. Cultural and recreational facilities are shared and used by members of all communities within the Edmonton Region, and there is growing co-operation in the area of economic development.

The Commission concluded that in terms of geography and community of interest, the populations of the metropolitan Edmonton area have more in common with Edmonton than the rural communities beyond them.

With these factors in mind, the Commission recommended the following changes to the Edmonton Region. A portion of the current electoral district of Edmonton West would become Edmonton Centre. It would incorporate the established communities in the central area of Edmonton into one electoral district. The new electoral district of Edmonton North would contain portions of the existing electoral districts of Edmonton Centre East and Edmonton North. Both the new Edmonton North and Edmonton Centre would contain relatively stable populations and would not likely experience dramatic growth.  Edmonton–Strathcona's southern boundary would be changed to reflect the major dividing line of Whitemud Drive. These three electoral districts would be bordered by five others that extend beyond the municipal boundaries of Edmonton to the surrounding urban communities: Edmonton–St. Albert, which would include north Edmonton and St. Albert (population 53,081); Edmonton–Sherwood Park, which would include the northeastern part of Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan (population 13,121) and Sherwood Park (population 49,959); Edmonton–Beaumont, which would include southeast Edmonton and Beaumont (population 7,006); Edmonton–Leduc, which would include southwest Edmonton, Leduc (population 15,032) and Devon (population 4,969); and Edmonton–Spruce Grove, which would include west Edmonton, Spruce Grove (population 15,983) and Stony Plain (population 9,589). The populations of these five greater Edmonton electoral districts would be below or slightly above the electoral quota for anticipated future growth.

Rural Electoral Districts

A number of changes were proposed to accommodate the reconfigured Edmonton Region and Red Deer electoral districts. The electoral district of Yellowhead would gain a portion of the existing St. Albert electoral district and would be bounded in the south by the David Thompson Highway. The proposed electoral district of Westlock–St. Paul would incorporate portions of the existing Athabasca, St. Albert, Elk Island and Lakeland electoral districts. The electoral district of Wetaskiwin would extend westward to the North Saskatchewan River and eastward to include sections of the existing Crowfoot electoral district. The Commission also recommended the establishment of a new electoral district of Vegreville–Wainwright, bounded in the west by the Wetaskiwin and Edmonton Region electoral districts, and in the south by the proposed new electoral district of Drumheller.

Because of the dramatic population growth in Airdrie, Cochrane and Canmore, the Commission recommended that the existing electoral district of Wild Rose be divided into two new electoral districts: Banff–Cochrane and Drumheller. The Commission proposed that the eastern boundary of Banff–Cochrane generally follow Highway No. 2 between Red Deer and Calgary, but deemed it advisable to split some communities along this route between the two electoral districts in order to achieve a greater measure of numerical equality. Specifically, Olds and Bowden would be in the Drumheller electoral district whereas the rest of the towns would be allocated to Banff–Cochrane. Although the Commission did not expect that this arrangement would pose representational difficulties, it recognized that there is a commonality of interest among Highway No. 2 communities that could not be completely observed.

In northern Alberta, the Commission proposed that the existing Athabasca electoral district be renamed Athabasca–Fort McMurray, the southern boundary of which would be adjusted to accommodate changes to neighbouring electoral districts and to allow for an anticipated increase in the population of Fort McMurray over the next decade. No changes were proposed to the boundary of the electoral district of Peace River other than a minor modification. It now follows the boundaries of the newly created Woodland Cree 228 Indian Reserve. It was recommended, however, that it be renamed Grande Prairie–Peace River to reflect the two large centres in the electoral district. The higher variances from the electoral quota in these electoral districts reflected the geography and population patterns of northern Alberta.

In the south, minor changes were recommended to the electoral district of Medicine Hat so that it followed the Red Deer River to Drumheller, thence west and south to the Bow River. The electoral district of Macleod was adjusted to take account of the expansion of the Calgary limits. No changes were proposed to the electoral district of Lethbridge.

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