UCP appoints lobbyist to lead Alberta electoral boundaries redraw
Premier Smith handpicked a former federal Conservative cabinet minister and lobbyist to help redraw the province's riding map, drawing sharp opposition from the NDP.
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Alberta's United Conservative government has stacked a legislative panel overseeing the redrawing of electoral boundaries with figures favourable to its interests, drawing immediate criticism from the Opposition.
The legislature committee appointed four members Tuesday to oversee the new boundary map process. Two came directly from Premier Danielle Smith's UCP: Monte Solberg, CEO of Calgary-based lobbying firm New West Public Affairs and a former federal Conservative MP; and Darwin Durnie, an emergency and infrastructure strategist who previously co-authored a submission recommending a map designed to favour rural-urban Calgary ridings.
The NDP put forward law professor Gerard Kennedy and former Okotoks town councillor Brent Robinson, but the UCP's choices dominate the panel. Opposition member Christina Gray says the appointments signal the process is rigged to silence Calgary voters. "The fix is in," she said.
Solberg served in Parliament as a Reform MP (1993, 1997), Canadian Alliance MP (2000), and Conservative MP for Medicine Hat (2004) before retiring from federal politics in 2008. His appointment to redraw provincial ridings gives a lobbying insider direct influence over how Albertans' voting power will be distributed — a process that typically involves independent commissioners to ensure impartiality. The NDP argues this panel cannot be trusted to produce a fair map.