STAY CONNECTED: Have the stories that matter most delivered every night to your email inbox. Subscribe to our daily local news wrap.
(Image Credit: Dreamstime)
By Jack Farrell and Lisa Johnson
Provincial Politics

Alberta Premier Smith defends proposed riding redraw that Opposition calls cheating

Nov 3, 2026 | 11:03 AM

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is defending a proposal to redraw provincial boundaries in a way the Opposition NDP says is cheating.

The legislature is soon expected to debate a report that pitches diluting urban ridings in the city of Lethbridge by merging them with surrounding rural ones.

Smith says so-called hybrid ridings are accepted practice and work elsewhere in the province.

The Opposition NDP says many changes suggested in the report are designed to give Smith’s United Conservatives an unfair advantage heading into the 2027 election through a process known as gerrymandering.

Gerrymandering, a feature of politics in the United States, sees electoral districts drawn up to match voting patterns to favour one political party.

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has promised to take the new ridings to court if they are approved by the legislature, and Smith says her government will assemble a legal team if necessary to defend them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2026.

by Jack Farrell and Lisa Johnson