OTTAWA - The Conservative government wants to add 22 new members to the House of Commons to reflect the growing population in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.

Under legislation introduced Friday, these provinces would get more seats after the 2011 census to reflect their population growth. Provinces whose growth is static or even dwindling will keep the seats they have now.

The bill is essentially an amendment to the Constitution, but because it deals solely with seats in the Commons, it can be done unilaterally by Parliament without any need for consultation with the provinces.

The legislation would change the complex mathematical formula used to allocate Commons seats.

That formula, last adjusted in 1985, would have added seven new seats to the Commons after the next census and raised the seat total to 315. The changes will added 22 seats, bring the total to 330.

If the legislation passes, Ontario will get 10 more seats, British Columbia seven and Alberta five.

Peter Van Loan, the government House leader and minister for democratic reform, said the changes will likely take years to implement.

"If this piece of legislation passes, it would apply to the next redistribution that would be based on the 2011 census and, if history is any example, that would mean it would likely come into effect about halfway through 2014," he said.

Statistics Canada conducts a full-blown census every 10 years and its findings produce the raw material for redistribution of Commons seats.

Van Loan said said the new formula offers a fair and modern solution to a problem that has troubled governments since 1867.

"One of the most crucial questions faced by the Fathers of Confederation was how to ensure equal representation in the House of Commons while guaranteeing that each province had a fair say in the daily workings of the new country."

He said the bill tries to ensure -- as far as possible given the need to protect the seat counts of smaller provinces -- that every vote carries the same political weight.

"This bill recognizes that the growing populations of Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia should have fair representation in the national legislature."

The bill will not directly address inequities between rural and urban constituencies. Rural ridings normally have smaller populations that urban ones.

Van Loan said that is something that must be addressed by the electoral boundaries commission that redraws constituencies.

However, he added, the new seats will go to provinces which have seen major urban growth in recent years.

The legislation was welcomed as a necessary piece of housekeeping by the Opposition.

"It's something that should be done every once in a while," said Stephen Owen, the Liberal critic for democratic reform.

"We do have a principle of representation by population," he said. "It's difficult in this large country with different growth rates at different times to stay strictly to that and there are also some constitutional guarantees for some of the smaller provinces and Quebec. But I think this is a welcome addition."

The NDP, however, which has been promoting proportional representation, was dismissive.

"Is it comprehensive?" asked Paul Dewar. "No. Is it going to meet the test of democratic reform and fairness? No. Is it what Canadians need right now? Absolutely not."