The Edmonton provincial electoral district existed in two incarnations from 1905 - 1909 and again from 1921 - 1955, with the city (small as it was in former times) broken up into multiple constituencies in the other time-periods. The district was created when Alberta became a province, to encompass residents of the city of Edmonton on the northside of the North Saskatchewan River For a time, it was one of three multi-member constituencies in the province's history, the others being Calgary and Medicine Hat.
Contents
- Expansion of seats and districts in Edmonton
- Districts
- Edmonton party composition at a glance
- 1909 and 1913 general elections
- 1924 Edmonton by Election
- 1940 general election
- 1948 Electrification Plebiscite
- 1957 liquor plebiscite
- References
Three methods of electing representatives were used over the years. First past the post election of a single member was used in 1905 and subsequent by-elections to 1921.
Block voting (voters able to cast as many votes as there were seats, that is 2) was used in 1909 and 1913.
The constituency was divided into two single-member constituencies for the provincial election of 1917: Edmonton East and Edmonton West. The adjacent constituency of Edmonton South had been renamed from the old constituency of Strathcona.
These three districts merged to form the Edmonton constituency in 1921, and block voting was established in 1921, to elect five members in the single constituency.
As a semblance of proportional representation, the UFA government brought in the single transferable vote for all constituencies, and made Edmonton, Calgary and Medicine Hat (for 1926 only) multi-member constituencies, with votes apportioned as per the Hare system, starting in 1924. STV, and the Hare system, where applicable, was also used in provincial by-elections during this period.
In 1959 the Social Credit government broke up the Calgary and Edmonton constituencies and replaced the transferable balloting with first-past-the-post system across the province. Nine constituencies were created in Edmonton: Edmonton Centre, Edmonton North, Edmonton Norwood, Edmonton North East, Edmonton North West, Jasper West, Strathcona Centre, Strathcona East and Strathcona West.
Expansion of seats and districts in Edmonton
The first table shows at a glance, the number of seats available by general election year for the Edmonton riding. The second table shows the number of districts in Edmonton, when the Edmonton riding was broken up.
Districts
For the 1913 election, Edmonton South Provincial electoral district was created from the old Strathcona constituency to elect one MLA. The Edmonton constituency elected two members by the block vote system.
Edmonton party composition at a glance
(Note: Independents in the 1940s were members of the Unity League, an anti-SC coalition of Liberal and Conservatives.)
1909 and 1913 general elections
In 1913 Charles Cross was elected in Edmonton and Edson.
1924 Edmonton by-Election
W.T. Henry elected on third count. Communist Party candidate H.M. Bartholomew showed strong third place showing, almost exceeding Conservative candidate on the second count.
1940 general election
It should be noted that many of the candidates listed as Independents, such as sitting MLA D.M. Duggan, were candidates for the Unity League, an anti-SC alliance of Conservatives and Liberals.
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. Question B was slightly modified depending on which city the voters were in.
Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Edmonton voted overwhelmingly in favor of the plebiscite. The district recorded slightly above average voter turnout almost just over the province wide 46% average with over half of eligible voters casting a ballot.
Edmonton also voted on Question B2. Residents voted for mixed drinking with a super majority. Turnout for question B. Turnout for Question B was slightly lower and than Question A.
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 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.