Proposed electoral boundaries to reshape the Taber and MD district

Times Map Supplied. REDRAWN: Proposed changes to the existing Taber-Warner riding would incorporate a large area north of the Oldman River, including Vauxhall, as well as the southwest including Cardston, the Blood Reserve and Waterton in a redrawn version of the previous Cardston-Taber-Warner riding (1996-2017).

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The provincial government’s Electoral Boundaries Commission (EBC) has released a map of its proposed boundary lines and the change will reshape and expand the constituency that has been Taber-Warner.

The Commission’s proposal is a response to the substantial increase in Alberta’s population over the last eight years and it said the EBC Act required a review of all provincial constituency boundaries before the next Alberta general election.

Cardston-Siksika and Taber-Warner have merged on the map and the boundary lines create a vast district (see map on Page 2) north of the US-Canada border. The region north of Lethbridge extending to Vulcan will be removed from Cardston-Siksika and reestablished within the Livingstone-Macleod and High River-Vulcan districts.

Cardston-Siksika was populated by over 47,000 residents when the most recent count was done in 2017. Taber-Warner was home to just under 50,000.

The Commission reported that “changes to provincial law in the fall of 2024 increased the number of constituencies from 87 to 89 for the next general election,” and it is required to review the boundaries and provide a final report to the Legislative Assembly by March 28, 2026. It submitted the interim report to Speaker Ric McIver on Oct. 27.

Public meetings both before and after the interim report has been made are a requirement under provincial law. Residents can send written submissions to the Commission at abebc.ca. A schedule of public meetings will be posted on the website on Nov. 24.