Alberta adding 2 seats to legislature, bringing total to 89 for next election

Alberta’s surging population has the provincial government planning to add more seats to the legislature.

Justice Minister Mickey Amery has introduced a bill — amendments to the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act —that calls for the creation of two additional electoral districts to bring the new total to 89 ahead of the 2027 general election.

Amery says the decision is driven by Alberta’s recent population growth, which is now at almost five million.

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Under the existing act, the population of each electoral division in Alberta must not be more than 25 per cent above or below the average population of all the proposed electoral divisions.

Government figures show that nine of Alberta’s current 87 constituencies are overpopulated, and Amery says having two additional representatives in the legislative assembly will improve voter representation.

Should bill pass, the government will establish a committee to study and recommend where the boundaries of existing constituencies should be changed to create the two new districts.

The last time Alberta’s legislative assembly grew was in 2010, when then-premier Ed Stelmach’s Progress Conservative government ordered the creation of four new districts.

Between July 1, 2023 and July 1 of this year, the province said Alberta’s population grew by around 204,000 people or 4.4 per cent. The government said this is the highest annual growth rate since 1981 and the highest among all provinces.