Wetaskiwin (provincial electoral district)

Wetaskiwin was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1971.[1]

Wetaskiwin
Alberta electoral district
Defunct provincial electoral district
LegislatureLegislative Assembly of Alberta
District created1905
District abolished1971
First contested1905
Last contested1967

History

The Wetaskiwin electoral district was one of the original 25 electoral districts contested in the 1905 Alberta general election upon Alberta joining Confederation in September 1905. The district was carried over from the old Wetaskiwin electoral district which returned a single member to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1898 to 1905.[2]

Liberal candidate Anthony Rosenroll who was the incumbent in the previous Northwest Territories' Legislature since 1891 was the first member elected for the Wetaskiwin electoral district.[3]

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Wetaskiwin
Assembly Years Member Party
1st  1905–1909     Anthony Rosenroll Liberal
2nd  1909–1913 Charles H. Olin
3rd  1913–1914
 1914–1917 Hugh John Montgomery
4th  1917–1921
5th  1921–1926     Evert E. Sparks United Farmers
6th  1926–1930
7th  1930–1935     Hugh John Montgomery Liberal
8th  1935–1940     John A. Wingblade Social Credit
9th  1940–1944
10th  1944–1948
11th  1948–1952
12th  1952–1955
13th  1955–1959
14th  1959–1963
15th  1963–1967 Albert W. Strohschein
16th  1967–1971

Election results

1905 general election

1905 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalA.L. Rosenroll [sic]55266.51%
ConservativeR.W. Angus27833.49%
Total 830
Liberal pickup new district.
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1905 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

The Returning Officer for the 1905 election was James Kennedy Burgess[4]

1909 general election

Liberal Charles H. Olin defeated Conservative James George Anderson in the 1909 election. Anderson previously contested the 1908 Canadian federal election in the Strathcona district as an Independent.[5]

1909 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalCharles H. Olin71359.82%-6.69%
ConservativeJames George Anderson47940.18%6.69%
Total 1,192
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined N/A
Eligible electors / Turnout N/AN/A
Liberal hold Swing -6.69%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1909 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1913 general election

1913 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalCharles H. Olin78057.35%-2.46%
ConservativeGeorge B. Campbell58042.65%2.46%
Total 1,360
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined N/A
Eligible electors / Turnout N/AN/A
Liberal hold Swing -2.46%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1913 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1914 by-election

Alberta provincial by-election, November 17, 1914
Upon the death of Charles H. Olin on October 4, 1914
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalHugh John Montgomery99066.94%9.59%
ConservativeF. B. Watson48933.06%-9.59%
Total 1,479
Rejected, spoiled and declined N/A
Eligible electors / turnout N/AN/A
Liberal hold Swing 9.59%
Source(s)
"By-elections". elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

1917 general election

1917 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalHugh John Montgomery1,50068.71%11.36%
ConservativeRobert MacLachlan Angus68331.29%-11.36%
Total 2,183
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined N/A
Eligible electors / Turnout N/AN/A
Liberal hold Swing 11.36%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1917 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1921 general election

1921 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
United FarmersEvert E. Sparks1,50855.36%
LiberalHugh John Montgomery1,21644.64%-24.07%
Total 2,724
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined N/A
Eligible electors / Turnout 3,34581.43%
United Farmers gain from Liberal Swing -13.35%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1921 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1926 general election

1926 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes
1st count
%Votes
final count
±%
United FarmersEvert E. Sparks1,27446.16%1,418-9.20%
LiberalHugh John Montgomery1,19843.41%1,266-1.23%
ConservativeJ.F. Inglis28810.43%
Total 2,760
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 139
Eligible electors / Turnout 3,61780.15%-1.29%
United Farmers hold Swing -3.98%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1926 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
Instant-runoff voting requires a candidate to receive a plurality (greater than 50%) of the votes.
As no candidate received a plurality of votes, the bottom candidate was eliminated and their 2nd place votes were applied to both other candidates until one received a plurality.

1930 general election

1930 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalHugh John Montgomery1,71354.73%11.32%
United FarmersEvert E. Sparks1,41745.27%-0.89%
Total 3,130
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 1
Eligible electors / Turnout 4,04077.50%-2.65%
Liberal gain from United Farmers Swing 3.35%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1930 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1935 general election

1935 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Social CreditJohn A. Wingblade2,76258.21%
LiberalHugh John Montgomery1,14924.21%-30.51%
United FarmersW. Stevens50610.66%-34.61%
ConservativeR. H. Inglis1873.94%
CommunistA. E. Bolton1412.97%
Total 4,745
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 117
Eligible electors / Turnout 5,67185.73%8.23%
Social Credit gain from Liberal Swing 12.27%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1935 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1940 general election

1940 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes
1st count
%Votes
final count
±%
Social CreditJohn A. Wingblade2,48047.19%2,761-11.02%
IndependentT. S. Steedman1,87435.66%2,179
Co-operative CommonwealthH. G. Young90117.15%
Total 5,255
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 77
Eligible electors / Turnout 7,41271.94%-13.80%
Social Credit hold Swing -11.23%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
Instant-runoff voting requires a candidate to receive a plurality (greater than 50%) of the votes.
As no candidate received a plurality of votes, the bottom candidate was eliminated and their 2nd place votes were applied to both other candidates until one received a plurality.

1944 general election

1944 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Social CreditJohn A. Wingblade2,70052.63%5.44%
Co-operative CommonwealthJ. G. Baker1,25924.54%7.40%
IndependentHugh John Montgomery1,00719.63%-16.03%
Labor–ProgressiveDavid Graham1643.20%
Total 5,130
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 115
Eligible electors / Turnout 6,82776.83%4.89%
Social Credit hold Swing 8.28%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1944 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1948 general election

1948 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Social CreditJohn A. Wingblade2,82751.65%-0.98%
LiberalMorley Merner1,41425.84%
Co-operative CommonwealthHenry Young1,23222.51%-2.03%
Total 5,473
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 215
Eligible electors / Turnout 7,50775.77%-1.06%
Social Credit hold Swing -1.14%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1948 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1952 general election

1952 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Social CreditJohn A. Wingblade2,66454.12%2.47%
Co-operative CommonwealthHarry Van Dyke1,02920.91%
LiberalWilliam W. Draayer1,02920.91%
Independent Social CreditArnold D. Olsen2004.06%
Total 4,922
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 354
Eligible electors / Turnout 7,91466.67%-9.10%
Social Credit hold Swing N/A
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1952 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1955 general election

1955 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes
1st count
%Votes
final count
±%
Social CreditJohn A. Wingblade2,69549.17%2,756-4.95%
LiberalErnest Oscar Larson1,63629.85%1,7318.94%
Co-operative CommonwealthM. Jevne89216.27%942-4.63%
ConservativeW. C. Kimmel2584.71%
Total 5,481
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 399
Eligible electors / Turnout 8,13572.28%5.61%
Social Credit hold Swing -6.95%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1955 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
Instant-runoff voting requires a candidate to receive a plurality (greater than 50%) of the votes.
As no candidate received a plurality of votes, the bottom candidate was eliminated and their 2nd place votes were applied to both other candidates until one received a plurality.

1959 general election

1959 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Social CreditJohn A. Wingblade3,35258.27%9.10%
Progressive ConservativeRobert D. Angus1,01017.56%
Co-operative CommonwealthDavid Pat. Garland74913.02%-3.26%
LiberalFred R. MacNaughton64211.16%-18.69%
Total 5,753
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 14
Eligible electors / Turnout 8,23170.06%-2.22%
Social Credit hold Swing 10.69%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1959 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1963 general election

1963 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Social CreditAlbert W. Strohschein333361.11%2.85%
LiberalAlbert Dyberg129823.80%12.64%
New DemocraticLeslie Pritchard82315.09%2.07%
Total 5,454
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 9
Eligible electors / Turnout 8,60163.52%-6.55%
Social Credit hold Swing -1.70%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1963 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1967 general election

1967 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Social CreditAlbert W. Strohschein2,87945.79%-15.32%
Progressive ConservativeDallas Schmidt2,40838.30%
New DemocraticRobert P. Christensen1,00015.91%0.82%
Total 6,287
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 17
Eligible electors / Turnout 9,12968.87%
Social Credit hold Swing -14.91%
Source(s)
Source: "Wetaskiwin Official Results 1967 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

Plebiscite results

1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Wetaskiwin[6]
Question A: Do you approve additional types of outlets for the
sale of beer, wine and spirituous liquor subject to a local vote?
Ballot Choice Votes %
No 1,892 51.62%
Yes 1,773 48.78%
Total Votes 3,665 100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 9
7,650 Eligible Electors, Turnout 48.03%

On October 30, 1957 a stand alone plebiscite was held province wide in all 50 of the then current provincial electoral districts in Alberta. The government decided to consult Alberta voters to decide on liquor sales and mixed drinking after a divisive debate in the Legislature. The plebiscite was intended to deal with the growing demand for reforming antiquated liquor control laws.[7]

The plebiscite was conducted in two parts. Question A asked in all districts, asked the voters if the sale of liquor should be expanded in Alberta, while Question B asked in a handful of districts within the corporate limits of Calgary and Edmonton asked if men and woman were allowed to drink together in establishments.[6]

Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Wetaskiwin was the only other city in Alberta aside from Lethbridge to vote against the proposal. The vote was nearly even with the No side winning by a slim margin. The voter turnout in the district was slightly above the province wide average of 46%.[6]

Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957.[6] The Social Credit government in power at the time did not considered the results binding.[8] However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.[9]

Municipal districts lying inside electoral districts that voted against the Plebiscite such as Wetaskiwin were designated Local Option Zones by the Alberta Liquor Control Board and considered effective dry zones, business owners that wanted a license had to petition for a binding municipal plebiscite in order to be granted a license.[10]

See also

References

  1. "Election results for Wetaskiwin". abheritage.ca. Wayback Machine: Heritage Community Foundation. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  2. "North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
  3. "Election results for Wetaskiwin, 1905". Alberta Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  4. "Territories Elections Ordinance; Province of Alberta". Vol VI No. 12. The Rocky Mountain Echo. October 30, 1905. p. 4.
  5. "Wetaskiwin Conservatives Convention". The Edmonton Bulletin. March 10, 1909. p. 7.
  6. Alberta Gazette. Vol. 53 (December 31 ed.). Government of Alberta. 1957. pp. 2, 247–2, 249.
  7. "Albertans Vote 2 to 1 For More Liquor Outlets". Vol L No 273. The Lethbridge Herald. October 31, 1957. pp. 1–2.
  8. "No Sudden Change In Alberta Drinking Habits Is Seen". Vol L No 267. The Lethbridge Herald. October 24, 1957. p. 1.
  9. "Entirely New Act On Liquor". Vol LI No 72. The Lethbridge Herald. March 5, 1968. p. 1.
  10. "Bill 81". Alberta Bills 12th Legislature 1st Session. Government of Alberta. 1958. p. 40.

Further reading

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