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The Decibel

The Alberta government is accused of gerrymandering

4/24/202623 min

The Alberta government is drawing controversy over electoral politics. They’re being accused of gerrymandering – the practice of redrawing voting districts to boost prospects in elections. Instead of approving a new electoral map provided by a commission, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith voted to appoint a new commission to appoint a panel that will create a new map.

Matthew Scace is a reporter from the Globe’s Calgary bureau. He joins us today to break down what this decision will mean for the Alberta government and why it’s causing such a stir.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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Clips

Commission Calls It Gerrymandering
Supermajority If Adopted
Government Tosses The Map
Why The Extra Layer Alarms
Premier’s Rationale In Her Words
Two Maps, One Province
Map Lines That ‘Wrap Around’
Opposition Goes On Offense

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Cheryl Sutherland· Host0:00

    [bell dings] The Alberta government is being accused of gerrymandering. [upbeat music] That's a process especially common in the US, where elected officials redraw district boundaries to boost their prospects in the next election. We don't often talk about how electoral boundaries are decided in Canada, because typically it's non-partisan and uncontentious. But this time, it is contentious. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith decided to ignore the recommendations for a new electoral map from an independent commission, and her government voted to strike up a new committee and create a new map. The Globe's Calgary reporter, Matthew Scace, has been covering this story. Today, he explains why the Alberta government made this decision and why it's causing such a concern. I'm Cheryl Sutherland, and this is The Decibel from The Globe and Mail. [upbeat music] Hi, Matt. Thanks for being here today.

  2. Matthew Scace· Guest1:01

    Thanks, Cheryl. Let's talk about maps.

  3. Cheryl Sutherland· Host1:03

    Let's talk about maps. Um, this controversy, uh, the Alberta government is facing right now is, is complicated, right? So- Very ... you're here to, to help us understand, uh, what's going on here, and we'll start with the basics. Um, we're focusing on electoral boundaries maps. What exactly is that?

  4. Matthew Scace· Guest1:21

    Electoral boundaries are basically the bedrock of what forms our electoral system. So every eight to 10 years,

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