The Conservative government plans to introduce a bill that would give Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario new seats in the House of Commons.

The bill, which is expected to be tabled Wednesday, would add 22 seats to the Commons, expanding the seat total to 330 from its current 308.

The proposed move would give Alberta five new seats, B.C. seven and Ontario an additional 10 in the lower chamber.

The three provinces would get more seats after the 2011 census to reflect their population growth, with the changes likely taking place by mid-2014.

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 original bill, announced in May, was killed when Parliament prorogued this fall.

In announcing the bill earlier this year, government House leader Peter Van Loan said the changes would give large provinces representation that is more fair while ensuring small provinces aren't forgotten.

Van Loan said the government is using Quebec as its benchmark, with the aim of having other provinces achieve close to the same level of proportional representation enjoyed by that province.

The last time the government changed the federal seating formula was in 1985.

With files from the Canadian Press