Lethbridge (provincial electoral district)

Lethbridge was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada.

The riding has existed twice. The first incarnation was in 1905 when Alberta first became a province. Lethbridge covered a large patch of southern Alberta, It was broken into Lethbridge District and Lethbridge City in 1909. After Lethbridge District was broken up into Taber and Little Bow in 1913, Lethbridge City was all that remained, using the Lethbridge name; in 1921 Lethbridge was reformed after City was dropped from the name. In 1971 Lethbridge was split into two districts: Lethbridge-East and Lethbridge-West.

The riding was named after the Southern Alberta city of Lethbridge.

Election results

1905 general election

1905 Alberta general election results[1] Turnout Unknown
Affiliation Candidate Votes %
     Liberal Leverett DeVeber 639 56.55%
     Conservative William Ives 491 43.45%
Total 1,130 100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined Unknown

1948–1967

Party 1967 1963 1959 1955 1952 1948
Liberal John Boras
2,237
Allen Cullen
3,786
Robery Jeacock
1,525
A.J. Cullen
3,361
Rex Tennant
1,901
H.B. McLaughlin
1,768
Conservative / Progressive Conservative Wilfred Bowns
4,128
Thomas Spanos
2,917
C.J. Black
883
Social Credit John Landeryou
6,155
John Landeryou
6,975
John Landeryou
7,250
John Landeryou
4,788
John Landeryou
4,975
John Landeryou
3,829
C.C.F. / N.D.P. Klaas Buijert
1,335
James Taylor
820
James Helwig
490
Emil Vaselenak
1,441

Single transferable vote, 1926–1940, 1944

1944

Year Count Candidate Party Votes
1944 2nd John Landeryou Social Credit 2,692
2nd D.H. Elton Independent 2,388
1944 1st John Landeryou Social Credit 2,367
1st D.H. Elton Independent 2,247
1st B.F. Tanner Cooperative Commonwealth 1,464
1st Eugene Scully Progressive Labour 219

1926 - 1930

Year Count Candidate Party Votes Year Count Candidate Party Votes
1930 2nd Andrew Smeaton Labour 2,238 1926 2nd Andrew Smeaton Labour 1,962
2nd W.D.L. Hardie Independent 1,978 2nd R.R. Davidson Conservative 1,713
1930 1st Andrew Smeaton Labour 2,036 1930 1st Andrew Smeaton Labour 1,584
1st W.D.L. Hardie Independent 1,598 1st R.R. Davidson Conservative 1,459
1st Robert Barrowman Independent 1,005 1st W.S. Galbraith Liberal 1,225

1906, 1921, 1935 - 1940

Party 1940 1937 1935 1921 1906
Liberal Robert Barrowman
1,946
William Simmons
543
Conservative G.W. Green
341
A.E. Keffer
231
Social Credit A.E. Smith
2,760
A.J. Burnap
3,279
Hans Wight
3,700
Labour Andrew Smeaton
654
John Marsh
1,374
Frank Henry Sherman
463
Unity Peter M. Campbell
4,099
Independent Peter M. Campbell
4,318
John Smith Stewart
2,252

Plebiscite results

1923 prohibition plebiscite

Options presented on the ballot Votes[2] %
(a) Prohibition - Meaning thereby a continuance and development of present Liquor Legislation; that is, meaning the Abolition of the Sale of all Liquors excepting for strictly Medicinal Sacramental, Manufacturing and Scientific Purposes. 1,342 %
(b) Licensed Sale of Beer - Meaning thereby, the Sale of Beer in Licensed Hotels and other Premises, as provided in the proposed Temperance Act. 56 %
(c) Government Sale of Beer - Meaning thereby, the Sale of Beer by or through Government Vendors for consumption in Private Residences under Government Control and Regulations - other Liquors to be sold through Doctor's Prescription for Medicinal Purposes. 53 %
(d) Government Sale of All Liquors - Meaning thereby, the Sale of all Liquors by or through Government Vendors. Beer to be consumed on Licensed Premises and in Private Residences. Wines and Spirits to be purchased in limited quantities under permit issued by the government, under Government Control and Regulations. 3,157 %
Total 4,914 100%
Spoiled Ballots 307

1948 Electrification Plebiscite

District results from the first province wide plebiscite on electricity regulation.

Option A Option B
Are you in favour of the generation and distribution of electricity being continued by the Power Companies? Are you in favour of the generation and distribution of electricity being made a publicly owned utility administered by the Alberta Government Power Commission?
4,237     64.90% 2,291     35.10%
Province wide result: Option A passed.

1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Lethbridge[3]
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 4,119 50.66%
Yes 4,012 49.34%
Total Votes 8,131 100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 66
15,974 Eligible Electors, Turnout 51.32%

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.[4]

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.[3]

Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Lethbridge and Wetaskiwin were the only cities in Alberta to vote against the proposal. It was defeated by the narrowest margins with polls showing a clear split between the north and south sections of the city.[4] The voter turnout in the district was well above the province wide average of 46% with well over half the electors turning out to vote.[3]

Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957.[3] The Social Credit government in power at the time did not considered the results binding.[5] However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.[6]

Municipal districts lying inside electoral districts that voted against the Plebiscite such as Lethbridge 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.[7]

References

  1. "Lethbridge Official Results 1905 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
  2. "Official Referendum Vote In Lethbridge". Lethbridge Daily Herald. November 16, 1923. p. 1.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Alberta Gazette. 53 (December 31 ed.). Government of Alberta. 1957. pp. 2,247–2,249.
  4. 1 2 "Albertans Vote 2 to 1 For More Liquor Outlets". Vol L No 273. The Lethbridge Herald. October 31, 1957. pp. 1–2.
  5. "No Sudden Change In Alberta Drinking Habits Is Seen". Vol L No 267. The Lethbridge Herald. October 24, 1957. p. 1.
  6. "Entirely New Act On Liquor". Vol LI No 72. The Lethbridge Herald. March 5, 1968. p. 1.
  7. "Bill 81". Alberta Bills 12th Legislature 1st Session. Government of Alberta. 1958. p. 40.

External links

Coordinates: 49°41′38″N 112°49′59″W / 49.694°N 112.833°W / 49.694; -112.833

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/6/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.