Calgary (provincial electoral district)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Calgary was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada that existed from 1905 to 1913 and 1921 to 1959, to elect members to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The district significantly grew over the years with the ever expanding city boundaries. The riding started out as a small one member district, and ended up a six man super riding, before its breakup in 1959.

Prior to 1905 when Calgary was still in the Northwest Territories there were two districts East Calgary and West Calgary, which were split from the original Calgary Northwest Territories district in 1894. Calgary district first came into existence when Calgary had a sufficiently large population to meet the requirements to elect members in the Northwest Territories in 1884.

The election of 1909 and 1921 saw members elected under a plurality Block Vote. The two top Candidates in 1909 and the top five in 1921 were elected to the Legislature.

In the elections of 1913 and 1917 Calgary was divided into three ridings Calgary South, Calgary Centre and Calgary North.

In 1926 the United Farmers of Alberta passed legislation that changed both Edmonton and Calgary to Single Transferable Vote super districts. The rest of the province had the optional single member voting system. During some elections, such as the 1957 Liquor Plebiscite, the city would outgrow the district boundaries and some residents would vote in neighboring rural districts.

In the 1950's, Calgary and Edmonton had gone through significant growth, and with every election returns under the transferable vote would take up to a week before anyone could be declared elected. Voting results printed in newspapers generally took half a page to print all the ballot transfers.

In 1959 the Social Credit government reinstituted First Past the Post system and divided Calgary and Edmonton into single member districts. In Calgary those districts were Calgary West, Calgary Glenmore, Calgary Bowness, Calgary North East, Calgary South East, Calgary Centre and Calgary North.

At the time some in the province were critical of Social Credits actions, as they did not consult Albertans on changing the voting system. The change had no negative effects for the Social Credit government in the following elections, as they were still at the height of their popularity.

During this time six By-elections were also conducted.

Contents

[edit] Expansion of Seats and Districts in Calgary

The first table shows at a glance, the number of seats available by general election year for the Calgary Riding. The second table shows the number of districts in Calgary, once the Calgary Riding was broken up.

[edit] Seats

Year 1905 1909 1921 1926 1930 1935 1940 1944 1948 1952 1955
Seats 1 2 5 5 6 6 5 5 5 6 6

[edit] Districts

Year 1913 1917 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1979 1982 1986 1989 1993 1997 2001 2004
Districts 3 3 7 8 9 13 13 16 16 18 18 20 21 21 23

[edit] Riding history

The election of 1905 provided one of the most bitter elections in the district's history. The scandal alleged voting interference at polling stations to Conservative voters. Key Liberals ended up being arrested including the campaign manager of William Henry Cushing. Re-counts that would see the result shift back and forth lasted for days before coming to a resolution.

1909 would see the riding shift to a multi member riding, from 1921 to 1935 the riding was a power base for the opposition, not electing any members of the government. However the United Farmers only ran two candidates in coalition in by-elections during this period. Alex Ross from the labor party also joined the government as a Cabinet Minister, even though he sat with the opposition.

From 1935 on Calgary would split between representation from the governing Social Credit party, and opposition parties. In the 1940's the riding became a power base for the Independents, which bombarded the Calgary Herald with some heavy advertising and attack ads.

[edit] Calgary party composition at a glance

Affiliation 1905 1909 1921 1926 1930 1933 1935 1940 1944 1948 1952 1955
     Liberal 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 2
     Conservative 1 2 3 2 1 1 1
     Social Credit 4 2 2 2 4 3
     Cooperative Commonwealth 1 1
     Labor 2 1 1 1
     Independent Labor 1
     Independent 2 1 3 2 1
 Total
 1 2 5 5 6 6 6 5 5 5 6 6

[edit] Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)

  Name Party Elected Left Office
     William Henry Cushing Liberal 1905 1913
     Richard Bennett Conservative 1909 1911
     Thomas Tweedie Conservative 1911 1913
     Alex Ross Labor 1921 1926
     Robert C. Edwards Independent 1921 1923
     Fred J. White Labor 1921 1935
     Robert Colin Marshall Liberal 1921 1926
     Robert Pearson Independent 1921 1926
     William McCartney Davidson Independent 1923 1926
     Alexander McGillivray Conservative 1926 1930
     George Harry Webster Liberal 1926 1933
     John Irwin Conservative 1926 1940
     Robert Parkyn Independent Labor 1926 1930
     Hugh Farthing Conservative 1930 1935
     John J. Bowlen Liberal 1930 ?
     Independent ? 1944
     Harold McGill Conservative 1930 1933
     Norman Hindsley Independent 1933 1935
     William Harry Ross Liberal 1934 1935
     Edith Gostick Social Credit 1935 1940
     Ernest Manning Social Credit 1935 1940
     Fred Anderson Social Credit 1935 1948
     John Hugill Social Credit 1935 1937
     Independent 1937 1940
     James Mahaffy Independent 1940 1944
     William Aberhart Social Credit 1940 1944
     Andrew Davison Independent 1944 1948
     Rose Wilkinson Social Credit 1944 1959
     Howard Macdonald Independent 1944 ?
     Social Credit ? 1955
     Alymer Liesemer Cooperative Commonwealth 1944 1952
     Frederick C. Colborne Social Credit 1948 1959
     Hugh John MacDonald Liberal 1948 1959
     Paul Brecken Conservative 1952 1955
     Arthur J. Dickson Social Credit 1952 1959
     Arthur Smith Conservative 1955 1957
     John Walter Grant MacEwan Liberal 1955 1959
     Ernest Watkins Progressive Conservative 1957 1959

[edit] Election Results 1905 - 1909, 1921 - 1957

[edit] 1957 by-election

1957 By-Election Results
Affiliation Candidate Votes %
     Conservative Ernest Watkins 17,565 43.69%
     Social Credit S.J. Helman 15,010 37.33%
     Labour F. Bodie 3,916 9.74%
     Liberal J.R. McCollough 3,023 7.52%
     Independent C.H. Harris 693 1.72%

[edit] 1952 - 1955

1955 Ballot Transfer Results Turnout 78.69% 1952 Ballot Transfer Results Turnout 80.39%
Affiliation Candidate 3,489 vote threshold Affiliation Candidate 5,885 vote threshold
1st % Votes Count 1st % Votes Count
     Conservative Arthur Smith 9,475    Social Credit Rose Wilkinson 6,796
     Liberal Hugh John MacDonald 7,501 Social Credit Howard MacDonald 4,214
     Social Credit Frederick Colborne 5,470 Social Credit Frederick Colborne 3,974
     Liberal Grant MacEwan 4,019 Conservative Paul Brecken 3,126
     Social Credit Rose Wilkenson 4,973 Liberal Hugh John MacDonald 2,711
     Social Credit Arthur J. Dixon 4,566 Social Credit Arthur J. Dixon 2,677
     Social Credit Howard MacDonald 4,423 Independent Labor D.F. McIntosh 2,927
     Conservative Paul Brecken 5,034 Social Credit Thomas Glen 2,820
     Liberal V.A. Cooney 2,536 Social Credit Clifford Clark 2,390
     Social Credit Ian Smith 2,290 CCF Alymer Liesemer 1,991
     Social Credit C.M. Willmott 1,745 Conservative Phillip Haigh 905
     Social Credit E.R.A. Temple 1,715 Liberal Melvin Shannon 857
     CCF George Ellinson 1,277 Conservative John Zubick 806
     Liberal Mary Dover 1,201 Conservative W.R. Irwin 764
     Liberal Harold Cush 1,065 Conservative Ronald Helmer 670
     Liberal Collier Maberley 1,025 CCF Robert Alderman 633
     Conservative Roy Devell 927 Liberal Alberta Clark 563
     CCF Herbert Ryan 648 Liberal Collier Maberley 555
     Labour Progressive A.L. Roberts 579 Labour W. Longridge 527
     Conservative Philip Haigh 577 CCF George Ellinson 378
     Independent Arthur Wray 471 CCF H.J. Ryan 333
     CCF K.A. Halliday 462 Liberal Richard Thomson 313
     CCF Paul Katzalay 245 Liberal J.A. Murray Green 287
CCF Harold Livegant 243
CCF Ronald Stirling 213
Total 45,914 100% 10 Counts Total 41,193 100% 18 Counts

[edit] 1944-1948

1948 Ballot Transfer Results Turnout 78.69% 1944 Ballot Transfer Results Turnout 80.39%
Affiliation Candidate 3,489 vote threshold Affiliation Candidate 6,560 vote threshold
1st % Votes Count 1st
(Forces)		 % Votes Count
     Social Credit Rose Wilkinson 7,153    Independent Andrew Davison 7,754
(137)		 7,754 1st
     Social Credit Frederick Colborne 3,923 Social Credit Fred Anderson 6,655
(123)		 6,655 1st
     Independent Howard MacDonald 3,840 Social Credit Rose Wilkinson 5,042
(103)		 8,338 15th
     Liberal Hugh John MacDonald 1,977 Independent Howard MacDonald 2,365
(20)		 6,897 17th
     CCF Alymer Liesemer 2,475 CCF Alymer Liesemer 3,560
(76)		 6,077 17th
     Social Credit J. Leslie Hill 2,464 CCF Robert Alderman 2,088
(43)		 Eliminated 17th
     Labor Peter Morrison 3,597 Independent John J. Bowlen 2,192
(25)		 Eliminated 16th
     Social Credit R.B. Estabrook 1,751 Social Credit Art Larsen 1,351
(33)		 Eliminated 15th
     Liberal J. Roger Flumerfelt 1,691 CCF C.W.J. Helmer 1,655
(72)		 Eliminated 14th
     Liberal Mary Dover 1,602 Independent R.C. Carlile 1,433
(10)		 Eliminated 13th
     Liberal Michael McCormick 1,237 CCF Ken Tory 1,462
(49)		 Eliminated 12th
     Independent M.V. Anderson 1,233 Social Credit Edward Geehan 1,162
(42)		 Eliminated 11th
     Social Credit George Whicher 1,091 Labour Progressive Pat Lenihan 491
(25)		 Eliminated 10th
     Liberal Loftus Ward 949 Social Credit C.M. Baker 834
(30)		 Eliminated 9th
     Independent Social Credit A.P. van Buren 737 CCF Herbert Wiertz 504
(4)		 Eliminated 8th
     Independent Edwina Milvain 578 Labour Progressive Lionel Edwards 304
(3)		 Eliminated 7th
     Independent Social Credit Art Larsen 563 Labour Progressive Mike Daniels 258
(9)		 Eliminated 6th
     CCF George Ellinson 539 Labour Progressive Gordon Wray 128
(5)		 Eliminated 5th
     CCF George Austin 518 Labour Progressive Audrey Staples 71
(1)		 Eliminated 4th
     Labour Progressive Terry Levis 516
     CCF W. Orr 442
     CCF Mary Hart 243
Total 45,914 100% 10 Counts Total 39,309
(810)		 100% 17 Counts

Note:

  • In the 1944 Election, Canadian Armed Forces personal were given special ballots intended to track how they voted. Service vote results are only available for the 1st Count.

[edit] 1935-1940

1940 Ballot Transfer Results Turnout 78.69% 1935 Ballot Transfer Results Turnout 80.39%
Affiliation Candidate 3,489 vote threshold Affiliation Candidate 5,885 vote threshold
1st % Votes Count 1st % Votes Count
     Independent Andrew Davison 12,465 27.15% 1st    Social Credit Ernest Manning 6,087 14.78% 6,087 1st
     Social Credit William Aberhart 12,122 26.40% 1st Conservative John Irwin 2,529 6.14% 6,092 13th
     Independent James Mahaffey 3,645 7.94% Social Credit Fred Anderson 5,058 12.28% 6,638 15th
     Independent John J. Bowlen 3,447 7.51% Liberal John J. Bowlen 3,874 9.41% 8,478 17th
     Social Credit Fred Anderson 1,939 4.22% Social Credit Edith Gostick 3,787 9.19% 5,886 18th
     Independent Joseph Shaw 2,685 5.85% Social Credit John Hugill 3,152 7.65% 4,399 18th
     Social Credit Edith Gostick 1,605 3.50% Social Credit Walter Little 2,963 7.19% Eliminated 18th
     CCF Fred J. White 2,846 6.20% Liberal Robert Wier 1,774 4.31% Eliminated 16th
     Independent N.D. Dingle 1,480 3.22% Social Credit Oscar Devenish 3,032 7.36% Eliminated 14th
     Social Credit H.D. Tarves 1,386 3.02% Conservative Hugh Farthing 2,090 5.07% Eliminated 13th
     CCF Robert Alderman 1,298 2.83% Labor Fred J. White 1,024 2.49% Eliminated 12th
     Independent Harry Pryde 576 1.26% Liberal George Millican 1,566 3.80% Eliminated 11th
     Independent Labor Douglas Mitchell 251 0.55% Conservative Joseph Follett 886 2.15% Eliminated 10th
     Independent J.F.M. Moodie 169 0.35% Communist Pat Lenihan 820 1.99% Eliminated 9th
Liberal R.W. Watson 786 1.91% Eliminated 8th
Labor Aylmer Liesemer 449 1.09% Eliminated 7th
Independent Charles Jamieson 469 1.14% Eliminated 6th
Conservative James Milvain 451 1.10% Eliminated 5th
Independent Labor Robert Parkyn 224 0.54% Eliminated 4th
Labor William Southern 172 0.41% Eliminated 3rd
Total 45,914 100% 10 Counts Total 41,193 100% 18 Counts

[edit] 1933 - 1934 by-elections

1934 By-Election Ballot Transfer Results Turnout 50.88% 1933 By-Election Ballot Transfer Results Turnout 69.40%
Affiliation Candidate 10,994 vote threshold Affiliation Candidate 13,919 vote threshold
1st % Votes Count 1st % Votes Count
Liberal William Ross 8,665 39.41% 10,968 3rd Independent Norman Hindsley 12,532 45.02% 14,128 5th
Labor + United Farmers Amelia Turner 8,058 36.65% Eliminated 3rd Labor + C.C.F. Amelia Turner 10,504 37.74% Eliminated 5th
Conservatives Charles Jamieson 4,168 18.96% Eliminated 2nd Independent Labor Robert Parkyn 2,003 7.20% Eliminated 4th
Progressive Labor Ernest Starr 1,096 4.98% Eliminated 1st Independent A.C. Mackay 1,775 6.38% Eliminated 3rd
Farm + United Front John O'Sullivan 539 1.94% Eliminated 2nd
Independent D.R. Chrichton 478 1.72% Eliminated 1st
Total 21,987 100% 3 Counts Total 27,831 100% 5 Counts

Note:

  • In 1933 The United Farmers of Alberta and the Western United Front ran a candidate under a joint banner.
  • In 1933 The Cooperative Commonwealth and the Labour Party of Alberta ran a candidate under a joint banner.
  • In 1934 The United Farmers of Alberta and the Labour Party of Alberta ran a candidate under a joint banner

[edit] 1926 - 1930

1930 Ballot Transfer Results Turnout 57.80% 1926 Ballot Transfer Results Turnout 59.44%
Affiliation Candidate 3,489 vote threshold Affiliation Candidate 3,290 vote threshold
1st % Votes Count 1st % Votes Count
     Conservative John Irwin 5,520 22.61% 3,495 1st    Conservative Alexander McGillivray 5,928 30.04% 3,290 1st
     Liberal George Webster 3,651 14.95% 3,494 1st   Conservative John Irwin 1,662 8.42% 3,290 2nd
     Conservative Hugh Farthing 2,279 9.33% 3,731 7th Liberal George Webster 2,941 14.90% 3,290 5th
     Labor Fred J. White 2,585 10.59% 3,492 7th Labor Fred J. White 1,222 6.19% 2,923 10th
     Liberal John J. Bowlen 2,598 10.64% 3,588 10th Independent Labor Robert Parkyn 2,467 12.50% 2,852 10th
     Conservative Harold McGill 1,634 6.69% 3,293 10th Liberal Nellie McClung 1,928 9.77% Eliminated 10th
     Independent Labor Robert Parkyn 1,544 6.32% Eliminated 10th Conservative Michael Costello 1,221 6.19% Eliminated 9th
     Liberal Robert Wier 1,191 4.88% Eliminated 10th Labor Alex Ross 1,265 6.41% Eliminated 8th
     Conservative H.S. Patterson 1,007 4.12% Eliminated 9th Liberal Robert Marshall 626 3.17% Eliminated 5th
     Independent A.C. MacKay 992 4.06% Eliminated 7th Labor John Russell 423 2.14% Eliminated 4th
     Labor W.E. Turner 575 2.36% Eliminated 6th Independent Frederick Potts 54 0.27% Eliminated 3rd
     Communist John O'Sullivan 460 1.88% Eliminated 4th
     Labor Thomas Vickers 381 1.57% Eliminated 3rd
Total 24,417 100% 10 Counts Total 19,737 100% 10 Counts

[edit] 1921 - 1923 by-elections

1923 By-Election Results Turnout 56.86% 1921 By-Election Results Turnout n/a
Affiliation Candidate Votes % Affiliation Candidate Votes
     Independent William McCartney Davidson 9,930 54.40%     Labor Alex Ross Acclaimed
     Liberal Clinton J. Ford 8,325 45.60%
Total 18,255 100% Total n/a

[edit] 1921 Block Vote

1921 Block Vote Results Turnout 53.54%
Affiliation Candidate Votes % Elected
     Labor Alex Ross 7,294 9.64% #1
     Independent Robert C. Edwards 6,400 8.46% #2
     Labor Fred J. White 6,190 8.18% #3
     Liberal Robert Marshall 5,246 6.93% #4
     Independent Robert Pearson 5,141 6.79% #5
     Liberal George Webster 4,391 5.80%
     Liberal Clinton J. Ford 4,230 5.59%
     Labor Robert Parkyn 4,082 5.39%
     Conservative Michael Costello 3,808 5.03%
     Conservative C.F. Adams 3,332 4.40%
     Liberal F. Langford 3,282 4.34%
     Conservative Thomas Blow 3,090 4.08%
     Liberal F.S. Selwood 2,969 3.92%
     Independent Herbert Adshead 2,878 3.80%
     Independent Labor Frederick Potts 2,864 3.78%
     Conservative Edward Crandell 2,663 3.52%
     Independent Labor Hannah Gale 2,386 3.15%
     Conservative Samuel Hollocks 2,282 3.02%
     Labor Socialist Frank Williams 1,745 2.31%
     Independent Alex Davidson 1,423 1.87%
Total 75,696 100%

Note:

  • Voters had the option of selecting up to five candidates on the ballot

[edit] 1905 - 1911

1911 By-Election Results Turnout n/a% 1909 Block Vote Results Turnout n/a% 1905 Results Turnout n/a%
Affiliation Candidate Votes % Affiliation Candidate Votes % Elected Affiliation Candidate Votes %
     Conservative Thomas Tweedie 2,931 63.65%   Liberal William Cushing 2,579 26.90% #1 Liberal William Cushing 1,030 42.56%
     Liberal Thomas Skinner 1,674 36.35% Conservative Richard Bennett 2,423 25.27% #2 Conservative Richard Bennett 983 38.43%
Liberal William Egbert 1,933 20.16% Independent A.D. Macdonald 407 19.01%
Conservative Thomas Blow 1,907 19.88%
Socialist George Howell 747 7.79%
Total 4,605 100% Total 9,589 100% Total 2,420 100%

Note:

  • In 1909 Voters had the option of selecting up to two candidates on the ballots

[edit] By-election's and floor crossings

  • October 31, 1911—Resignation of Mr. Richard Bennett to run for House of Commons
  • December 9, 1921—Alex Ross appointed to a cabinet portfolio in the United Farmers Government
  • January 15, 1923—Death of Mr. Robert C. Edwards
  • January 19, 1933—Resignation of Dr. Harold McGill
  • January 15, 1934—Death of Mr. George Webster
  • 1937—John Hugill leaves Social Credit and sits as an Independent
  • 1940—John J. Bowlen leaves the Liberal party and becomes Independent
  • 1950—Howard Macdonald crosses the floor from Independent to Social Credit
  • October 2, 1957—Resignation of Mr. Arthur Smith

[edit] Plebiscite District Results

[edit] 1948 Electrification Plebiscite

District results from the 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?
26,325     69.63% 11,478     30.37%
Province wide result: Option A passed.

[edit] 1957 Liquor Plebiscite

District results from on mixed drinking and additional liquor stores, from the 1957 Liquor Plebiscite. The second question was only asked in Calgary and Edmonton.

First Question: asked Province wide.
Do you approve additional types of outlets for the sale of beer, wine and spirituous liquor subject to a local vote?
For Against
47,121   77.46% 13,713   22.54%
Provice wide results: Passed
Second Question: local to Calgary and Edmonton
Should mixed drinking be allowed in beer palours in Edmonton and Calgary and the surronding areas?
For Against
49,514   81.19% 11,472   18.81%
Provice wide results: Passed

[edit] See also

  • Calgary Northwest Territories electoral district
  • Calgary Federal electoral district
  • Calgary has also been used as a self designated Senate division in both Alberta and Northwest Territories.

[edit] External links and references

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/a/l/Calgary_%28provincial_electoral_district%29.html"