BOW VALLEY – While there was concern Banff and Canmore would be split into two different federal ridings through redistribution, that may not be the case now.
A final report outlining the proposed changes has been tabled in the House of Commons, with Members of Parliament now able to express any issues they have with the boundaries to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
The new proposed riding, called Jasper-Banff-Canmore, will remove Airdrie from the riding.
Current Banff-Airdrie MP Blake Richards feels that the change is a good one, but not quite a perfect solution.
“Although I find overall the riding pretty disjointed, I understand the challenges they have of putting together a federal riding of that population size,” said Richards, who had been the region’s Conservative MP since 2008. “I think having the biggest communities be the mountain communities will help amplify those voices in a riding like that.”
These boundary changes are non-partisan, mandated by the Supreme Court of Canada with a percentage discrepancy required between the largest and smallest constituencies in the country. An independent commission attempts to redraw boundaries based on the growth of population in some constituencies, which has put the riding out of step with other constituencies.
The boundary changes in Alberta will also increase the number of seats the province has in the House of Commons to 37 from 34.
“In the boundary redistribution process, it was designed to respond to increased population,” Richards said. “In this case, Alberta will get three more seats and that will give more weight to Alberta in the House of Commons.”
The original proposal for what was then called the Yellowhead Riding, would have had Banff in that riding, and Canmore in a riding with Cochrane and Olds. Such a change would have gone against decades of history.
Prior to the Banff-Airdrie riding, both communities were in the Wild Rose riding from 1988 to 2015. Before that it was the Bow River riding from 1979 to 1988, and from 1968 to 1979 it was Rocky Mountains. From 1908 to 1968, both communities were within the Macleod Riding.
The Banff-Airdrie riding has been a conservative stronghold in the province, with Richards easily winning five elections and never receiving fewer than 57 per cent of the vote. The riding has also seen the population dominated-Airdrie carry the vote, with communities such as Banff and Canmore having less influence.
In the 2021 federal election, Richards received 41,105 votes with 3,399 coming from Banff and Canmore polling stations. However, he was still the top candidate in the two ridings, with the next two closest being Liberal Party candidate David Gamble at 2,634 and NDP candidate Sarah Zagoda with 2,633.
Of the 28 polling stations in Canmore, Richards won 15 of them and tied another with the NDP, who claimed eight of the voting stations, and the Liberals had four. Richards received 2,557 votes in Canmore, while Gamble had 1,928 and Zagoda 1,748.
In Banff, there were 14 stations, with Zagoda winning nine compared to three going to Richards and two to Gamble. The vote totals, however, were slightly closer, with Zagoda receiving 945 in Banff, Richards 842 and Gamble 766.
Both mayors in Banff and Canmore expressed gratitude with the amendment to the original proposal that could see the two mountain communities stick together in the federal riding.
“It is a positive change,” said Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert. “Banff, Canmore, Jasper and the neighbouring mountain communities share similar needs. The new proposed boundaries make a lot of sense.”
Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno echoed Krausert’s comments, with the two municipalities not only remaining linked federally but also being joined by Jasper.
“I would say that we are very pleased that the federal electoral boundary commission heard our concerns that it separated Banff and Canmore,” she said. “We are quite pleased to see Banff and Canmore be reunited and we are thrilled that Jasper is also joining.”
The three main communities in the riding all share a similar culture, with both Jasper and Banff being inside national parks, and tourism being a key economic driver. That shared culture is another reason both DiManno and Krausert are happy to see the communities joining together within a riding.
“When you think about it, we have a mountain highway connecting us, secondary highways connecting us and we share the culture of living in the mountains,” DiManno said. “We are also working to protect our environment no matter if they are in a national park or provincial park. I see a lot of connectivity there with the new proposed district.”
Krausert noted the three municipalities have similar issues and concerns for their residents. The three communities have been working together for several years in an attempt to gain resort municipality status. A newly released report from Verum Consulting was commissioned by the three to analyze the cost they each bear on infrastructure needs due to the high level of tourism.
“Banff, Canmore and Jasper have very similar situations,” Krausert said. “We will be able to have our voices joined together in speaking with the next Member of Parliament representing us.”
As for who will represent the riding, Richards is holding off deciding which riding he will run in until after the new redistribution is finalized.
“This is the second draft and there is another opportunity for objections and there could still be changes,” Richards said. “I will make my decision about that when they are finalized.”
The process to change ridings is a slow one, and it is quite possible the area could go through another election as part of the Banff-Airdrie riding.
“With the timing of this and it being a minority government, we may see the next election on the current boundaries,” Richards said.
No matter what happens going forward with the riding change, there is excitement among the mayors of the three main communities of what potentially could be.
“When we heard the news, the three mayors of Jasper, Banff and Canmore were emailing back and forth and were excited this was the outcome and that our voices were heard,” DiManno said. “We are looking forward to becoming one big happy electoral family.”
