Yesterday, the Electoral Boundaries Commission brought forward recommendations on changes to Alberta's electoral districts for the 2019 election. 

Airdrie MLA Angela Pitt shared her thoughts on the recommendations, which included splitting Airdrie into two ridings. Pitt says she finds the change odd.

"My concern with the Airdrie-Cochrane riding is that Airdrie and Cochrane are two very distinct, seperate entities. The question would be if one MLA can properly represent both of those communities."

Pitt did concede there could be some benefits to having two members from Airdrie.

"The more voices speaking for Airdrie, the better for Airdrie, so there is a positive silver lining in that. We do know that we're just going to continue to grow here too, our population isn't stagnant."

Pitt also commented on the reduction of rural ridings in Alberta, which she sees as problematic.

"The redrawing of a lot of the rural communities in this province is a big concern for me. Our rural communities often feel like they're not part of the big picture."

Pitt says some of those rural ridings, which would take four hours to drive from corner to corner, are so large that the needs of constituents would end up being incredibly varied.

Pitt also said that nothing is set in stone yet with the new boundaries, and encouraged her constituents to make their voices heard with any concerns or feedback on the proposal.

 

Read More:

Electoral Boundaries Report Could Mean Big Changes for Airdrie

 

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