Motion to redraw Alberta’s electoral maps, passes in legislature

A controversial motion from Premier Danielle Smith’s government to take proposed changes to Alberta’s electoral maps back to the drawing board has passed in the legislature.

The motion tasks a new committee of legislature members with overseeing the work of a new advisory panel that will propose updated riding maps by the fall.

It comes after a bipartisan commission split largely along party lines and put forward profoundly different proposals last month.

Smith says the government’s motion is in line with the commission’s chair, who suggested creating more seats in the legislature to prevent the loss of rural ridings as he and the commission’s majority had put forward.