Lobbyist, former Conservative MP to help draw Alberta electoral boundaries

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservatives have tapped a former federal conservative cabinet minister and lobbyist to help redraw the map marking electoral ridings across the province.

Monte Solberg is one of four panel members appointed Tuesday by a legislature committee overseeing the new map-making process.

But the Opposition NDP says that process to re-do the work of a previous electoral boundaries commission — but with a mandate to create more ridings — is illegitimate and can’t be trusted.

Also handpicked by Smith’s UCP was Darwin Durnie, who co-authored a submission to the previous commission recommending a map that includes multiple mixed rural-urban Calgary ridings.