The report recommends boundaries and names to be used for 89 provincial electoral districts for the next eight to 10 years.
On March 26, 2026, the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission submitted its final report to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, as per its requirements in the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act. The final report also includes a minority report from two dissenting commissioners, which includes alternative electoral boundary maps.
The Legislative Assembly will now review the Commission’s recommendations, propose possible amendments, and introduce legislation for debate and vote intended to finalize and implement electoral boundaries based on the Commission’s recommendations as presented or amended.
The Legislative Assembly has no mandated timeline for reviewing the report and recommendations or for when legislation is introduced, debated, and voted on. For this reason, next steps are unclear.
Key Recommendations
The Electoral Boundaries Commission Act places constraints on the scope of the Commission’s recommendations, including a requirement that the Commission develop 89 electoral districts and, with specific exceptions, that all electoral divisions have a population no more than 25% above or below the provincial average.
Some of the most notable recommendations for change from the existing electoral districts include the following:
- Add two electoral districts to the City of Calgary.
- Add one electoral district to the City of Edmonton (in the form of two new urban/rural “hybrid ridings” on the south end of the city, combined with the removal of one riding within the city core).
- Restructure four existing Calgary ridings as hybrid ridings in combination with surrounding rural areas.
- Eliminate the Lac St. Anne-Parkland and Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre electoral divisions by combining them with neighbouring electoral divisions.
- Increase the overall number of hybrid ridings from 18 to 27.
- Apply “s. 15(2)” powers to develop three electoral districts with a population greater than 25% below the provincial average (Lesser Slave Lake, Central Peace-Notley, Canmore-Banff).
RMA Analysis
RMA has not yet conducted a detailed analysis of the Commission’s final report. RMA’s previous written feedback in response to the Commission’s interim report in December 2025 included the following key themes:
- Population variance: the interim report did not adequately utilize the full 25% +/- population variance range available to preserve rural electoral districts.
- Based on initial analysis, this approach appears to have been maintained in the final report, as no riding is more than 14.3% above the provincial average despite the 25% threshold.
- Consistent consideration of geographic and community factors across urban and rural electoral districts: the interim report did not appear to consider factors such as community connections, transportation links, etc. consistently across urban and rural ridings.
- RMA has not yet examined specific electoral district justification used in the final report to determine if and how consideration of such factors changed from the interim report.
- Use of s. 15(2) population variance threshold exemption: the interim report proposed only one electoral district below the 25% population variance threshold despite the Act allowing for up to four.
- The final report expands use of s. 15(2) to apply to three electoral districts, including Lesser Slave Lake, which was eliminated in the interim report.
- Hybrid ridings: the interim report expanded the use of hybrid ridings, including to Edmonton and Calgary, which could have significant impacts on effective representation for both urban and rural residents in the hybrid ridings.
- The final report further increases the use of hybrid ridings.
Next Steps
RMA will undertake further analysis of the recommendations, as well as provide members with information on next steps related to amendment or implementation of the recommendations when it becomes available.
Wyatt Skovron
General Manager of Policy & Advocacy
780.955.4096
wyatt@RMAlberta.com