Alberta’s chief electoral officer is urging members of the provincial legislature to either not approve the new electoral maps scheduled to be released Monday or delay next year’s provincial election, saying Elections Alberta doesn’t have the time or resources to implement the changes by next year’s fixed election date.
asserted
Alberta → urge → date
Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure, in a Friday letter sent to each of the province’s 87 MLAs, and circulated by the Alberta NDP, warned that the flurry of electoral activity in the province over the past year has severely constrained the agency’s ability to prepare for the next provincial election.
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flurry → send → election
Elections Alberta typically requires 12 to 18 months to plan and prepare for a provincial election, and establishing the boundaries is only the first step in the process, he wrote.
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he → require → process
As a consequence, Mr. McClure urged MLAs to consider one of two options: hold the Oct. 18, 2027 provincial election using the already established electoral map, or accept the new map and extend the fixed-election date “where legally authorized and necessary.
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McClure → urge → date
“I urge all Members to consider the time required for implementation as deliberations concerning electoral boundaries proceed,” Mr. McClure wrote.
“A timely and definitive resolution, together with an appropriate contingency plan should additional time be required, is essential to protecting the readiness and successful delivery of Alberta’s next provincial general election.”
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time → urge → election
Alberta’s electoral boundaries are expected to be tabled in the provincial legislature on Monday and, if approved, would be used for next year’s election.
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boundaries → expect → election
The redrawing process, mandated by Alberta law, has been clouded by allegations of gerrymandering, the U.S.-style tactic of manipulating electoral maps to create an artificial advantage, since Premier Danielle Smith in April rejected a independent commission’s proposed boundaries.
Her government then formed a UCP-dominated committee that created a new independent panel charged with taking a second attempt at drawing the electoral map.
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that → mandate → map
The panel consisted of two members tapped by the NDP, two by the UCP, and was chaired by retired Alberta judge Brian O’Ferrall.
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panel → consist → O’Ferrall
It delivered that map to the committee of MLAs last week.
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It → deliver → MLAs
The report remains confidential, but on Wednesday Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi and two fellow New Democrat MLAs detailed extensive concerns about the new proposed boundaries.
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Nenshi → remain → boundaries
Mr. Nenshi called the map “illegal,” saying Ms. Smith’s government had “engineered the single worst case of gerrymandering in Alberta history” – though he stopped short of saying whether the NDP planned to launch a legal challenge.
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NDP → call → challenge
The Premier has said she will withhold judgment on the map until it is publicly released.
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it → say → map
But with the prospect of a bitter political fight and potential court challenge over the boundaries, Mr. McClure wrote that compressing the timeline ahead of next year’s election would stretch Elections Alberta even further.
“While Elections Alberta takes no position on the merits of any potential legal proceedings, the prospect of a court challenge introduces additional uncertainty into an already compressed implementation schedule,” he wrote.
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he → write → schedule
He continued that Elections Alberta is already the leanest electoral agency in Canada on a per-voter-served basis.
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Alberta → continue → basis
Mr. McClure has issued several warnings this year about Elections Alberta’s ability to manage the recent referendum and next year’s provincial election, in addition to the wave of citizen-initiated and recall petitions launched over the past year.
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McClure → issue → year
He reiterated those concerns in his letter, saying resources normally dedicated to the general election were diverted for the referendum.
“In the last 24 months we have been increasingly required to do more, with less resources,” he wrote.
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he → reiterate → resources
Mr. McClure’s recommendations give Ms. Smith’s government the option of pushing back the next general election.
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recommendations → give → election
The Premier’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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office → respond → comment
Ms. Smith’s United Conservative Party government was elected on May 29, 2023, giving the province the option of holding the next election in spring, 2028, at the latest.
Her government in 2024 pushed back the fixed election date from May to October to reduce the risk of elections being impacted by natural disasters, which tend to occur more often in the spring.
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which → elect → spring
Wildfires during the 2023 vote forced the evacuation of nearly 30,000 people as parties jostled on the campaign trail.
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parties → force → trail
Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, provincial legislatures have a maximum legal lifespan of five years.
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legislatures → have → years
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi, in a statement, called on Ms. Smith to adopt the electoral map proposed by the previous independent panel.
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Nenshi → call → panel
“Danielle Smith and the UCP should have implemented the independent commission’s report six months ago and they could still do it now,” he wrote.
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he → implement → it
“Albertans deserve to vote in free, fair and timely elections.”
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Albertans → deserve → elections
Elections Alberta did not respond to a request for comment.
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Alberta → respond → comment
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