Cardston was a provincial electoral district in southern Alberta, Canada. The riding was created in when Alberta first became a province in 1905.
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The riding has always occupied the most southern portion of the province along the Canada / United States border. In 1993 the borders of the riding of Pincher Creek-Crowsnest shifted south into Cardston, and the riding was renamed Cardston-Chief Mountain.
The riding was named after the town of Cardston and this region is considered one of the most conservative in the province.
1905 general election
Cardston electoral district was created in 1905 when Alberta became a province. The electoral district replaced the previous Cardston territorial electoral district represented in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1902 to 1905.
The 1905 election was between Liberal candidate John William Woolf and Conservative candidate John Parrish. Woolf was well known rancher and politician in the area. He had served as the district representative in the Northwest Territories Legislature from 1902 to 1905. Woolf also served briefly on the local government as a municipal councilor in the town of Cardston. Woolf won the district on election day easily defeating Parish with a landslide taking nearly 70% of the popular vote.
1948 Electrification Plebiscite
District results from the first province wide plebiscite on electricity regulation.
1957 liquor plebiscite
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.
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.
Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Cardston recorded the strongest vote in the province against the proposal, this was likely due to the strong Mormon communities in the district. The district also recorded a strong voter turnout. It was well above the province wide average of 46%.
Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957. The Social Credit government in power at the time did not considered the results binding. However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.
Municipal districts lying inside electoral districts that voted against the Plebiscite such as Cardston 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.