District created 1934 Last contested 2016 Elector 7,146 | First contested 1934 Population (2001) 13,041 | |
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MLA Buckley BelangerNew Democratic Census divisions La Loche, Île-à-la-Crosse, Buffalo Narrows | ||
Athabasca is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located in the extreme northwest corner of the province. The major industries are tourism, mineral extraction, forestry, commercial fishing and trapping. The Cluff Lake uranium mine is located in this constituency, as well as the Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park and the Clearwater River Provincial Park. The major communities are La Loche, Île-à-la-Crosse and Buffalo Narrows with populations of 2,136, 1,268 and 1,137 respectively.
Contents
The election was most recently contested in the 2016 general election, during which incumbent NDP MLA Buckley Belanger was re-elected.
There is also a former provincial electoral district of the same name that was created before the 1908 general election and was dissolved before the 1917 general election.
History
In 1998 Buckley Belanger was elected, winning by 159 votes. Belanger left the Liberals, putting his seat on the line to run as a New Democrat. In the by-election, he defeated the Liberal candidate by 2,050 votes (94% of the popular vote), the second-largest majority in the history of the province. Belanger was subsequently re-elected in every general election since then, most recently in 2016. The riding is considered one of the safest New Democratic seats in Saskatchewan.
Member of the Legislative Assembly
This riding has elected the following Members of the Legislative Assembly: