Alberta NDP says UCP cooking riding boundaries ahead of election

The leader of Alberta’s Opposition says the United Conservative Party government is rigging riding boundaries for its own advantage ahead of next year’s election, while Premier Danielle Smith argues the NDP is getting ready to deny voting results.

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said Wednesday that a report put before an all-party committee gerrymanders ridings in Lethbridge and Calgary, diluting NDP support in favour of the UCP.

Smith, faced in the legislature with allegations of cheating, shot back.

She questioned why Nenshi was talking about a report that hasn’t yet been delivered to legislature members.

“He’s already pre-positioning another election denialism, trying to pre-frame the results as if it’s going to have an impact on the next election,” said Smith, who also demanded an apology.

1:45 Alberta government plan to add electoral ridings draws criticism

Nenshi said the report suggests the panel in charge of drafting new boundaries appeared to receive instructions from the government and wasn’t independent.

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“Everything about it violates every democratic norm in Alberta. Why is the government so scared of fair elections?” he asked.

Smith accused Nenshi of questioning the integrity of judges, including Brian O’Ferrall, a former judge and the chair of the panel responsible for the redraw.

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“What a disgrace!” she said.

Nenshi said the real disgrace is “the people of Lethbridge being wiped off the map.”

“How can the premier think this is legal, acceptable, moral or constitutional?” he asked.

Smith retorted that Nenshi should “put on his big boy pants,” quit complaining and start campaigning instead.

The next provincial election is set for Oct. 18, 2027.

Gerrymandering is a tactic that sees voting districts designed not to reflect geography or population patterns but to concentrate or fragment voters to benefit a particular political party.

Nenshi said if the proposed Alberta boundary map passes a legislature vote, the NDP would take it to court on constitutional grounds. The Constitution protects voters’ rights to effective representation.

“What we’re seeing today is an unprecedented attack on Canadian democracy,” he said.

1:55 Draft changes to Alberta’s provincial ridings see Edmonton, Calgary gain seats

“If we go forward with this, this will be the legacy of this government: that they cared about power so much that they didn’t want fair elections; that they wanted to cheat to win.”

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The report, presented only to committee members, has not been made public. It’s expected to be tabled in the legislature next week.

The NDP members on the committee, Christina Gray and Kathleen Ganley, said they briefed Nenshi and that the report includes proposals to split the city of Lethbridge from the two urban ridings into four that take in surrounding rural areas. Lethbridge is currently split between the UCP and NDP.

They also told the committee the same is happening in three northwest Calgary ridings.

Recent provincial elections have seen the UCP dominate in rural areas and smaller cities, while the NDP has controlled Edmonton. The two have battled for advantage in Calgary.

The UCP holds a majority of votes on the committee. Chair Brandon Lunty, a UCP backbencher, wouldn’t comment on the contents of the report and declined to respond to accusations of gerrymandering.

“I think it’s important that we respect the process,” he told reporters.

He said legislature members are allowed to discuss such reports with each other but that he believes the NDP abused the process by discussing the report publicly.

The boundary review and report come after a previous bipartisan boundary commission was split in its recommendations after months of public consultations.

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Dallas Miller, the chair of that commission, tried to avoid the minority report’s alternative boundaries that would blend many urban and rural ridings. He suggested a compromise.

Miller said the legislature could revisit the process with an eye to boosting the number of ridings to 91 from 87.

Smith said at the time that her government was following Miller’s recommendation when it formed the committee of legislature members to oversee the work of a new panel.

She denied accusations from the NDP that her government was pulling strings behind the process or that it would be directing the new panel to come up with proposals based on the minority’s recommendations.

Gray said during Wednesday’s meeting that the new report implies the government wanted to adopt the minority recommendations.

Gray, quoting from a page of the report, said the panel was “assisted by the recommendations of the much-maligned minority commissioners.”

“Within the report, we also see the UCP majority appointees continue to praise the minority commissioners,” Gray said.

© 2026 The Canadian Press