In a report released on Thursday by Alberta’s Boundaries Commission it was recommended that Vermilion-Lloydminster area boundaries should be extended west towards the eastern boundaries of the Sherwood Park and the Sherwood Park-Strathcona electoral divisions. It would take over the former Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville electoral division and also include the northeast section of the current Battle River-Wainwright electoral division.
This comes with the recommendation to consolidate several ridings across the province, including seven ridings on the eastern side of the province into six. Those regions include: Battle River-Wainwright, Drumheller-Stettler, Strathmore-Brooks, Little Bow, Cardston-Taber-Warner, Cypress-Medicine Hat and Vermilion-Lloydminster. These areas have a growth rate below the province as a whole, and the consolidation will allow the creation of a new seat in both the Edmonton and Calgary area.
“This recommendation creates an electoral division with largely agricultural interests. It also ends the division of Beaver County into four electoral divisions, leaving it divided between only two.”
The population for the Vermillion-Lloydminster riding would be 48,725, which is 4% above the provincial average.
The commission began its review in December 2016. More than 700 submissions were made online and from groups that attend public hearings.