| Alberta electoral district | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 boundaries | |||
| Provincial electoral district | |||
| Legislature | Legislative Assembly of Alberta | ||
| MLA |
Progressive Conservative |
||
| District created | 1913 | ||
| First contested | 1913 | ||
| Last contested | 2008 | ||
Little Bow is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada.
The district, named after the Little Bow River, was created in 1913 from the north-west corner of Lethbridge District and the eastern portions of Okotoks, High River, Nanton and Claresholm districts.
Throughout its history, this district has been dominated by agricultural activities. Because the area is prone to summer time drought and frequent water rationing, agriculture has been limited to grain crops and cattle ranches. The recent BSE crisis, and the subsequent closure of the US border to Canadian cattle, has been a major election issue.
The district's major communities, Vulcan, Coalhurst, the Siksika Reserve, Arrowwood, Picture Butte and Mossleigh provide service centres for area's agricultural and oil & gas industries.
Contents |
| 66 Little Bow 2003 Boundaries[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bordering Districts | |||
| North | East | West | South |
| Strathmore-Brooks | Cypress-Medicine Hat | Livingstone-Macleod, Highwood | Cardston-Taber-Warner, Lethbridge-East, Lethbridge-West |
| Legal description from the Statutes of Alberta 2003, Electoral Divisions Act. | |||
| Starting at the intersection of the east boundary of Sec. 23 in Twp. 21, Rge. 26 W4 and the right bank of the Bow River; then 1. downstream along the right bank to the south boundary of the Siksika Indian Reserve No. 146 in Sec. 6, Twp. 22, Rge. 24 W4; 2. in a northeasterly, southeasterly and southerly direction along the Indian Reserve boundary to the right bank of the Bow River; 3. downstream along the right bank of the Bow River to the right bank of the Oldman River; 4. upstream along the right bank of the Oldman River to the east boundary of Rge. 19, Twp. 10 W4; 5. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 7 in Twp. 9, Rge. 18 W4; 6. east along the north boundary of the south half to the east boundary of the west half of Sec. 7 in the Twp.; 7. south along the east boundary of the west half of Secs. 7 and 6 to the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 6 in the Twp.; 8. east along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 6 in the Twp.; 9. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of Twp. 8; 10. east along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 32 in Twp. 8, Rge. 18 W4; 11. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 33 in the Twp.; 12. east along the north boundary of the south half of Secs. 33 and 34 to the east boundary of the west half of Sec. 34 in the Twp.; 13. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of Sec. 27 in the Twp.; 14. east along the north boundary of Secs. 27 and 26 to the east boundary of the west half of Sec. 26 in the Twp.; 15. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 26 in the Twp.; 16. east along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 26 in the Twp.; 17. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of Sec. 24 in the Twp.; 18. east along the north boundary to the east boundary of Rge. 18 W4; 19. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 19 in Twp. 8, Rge. 17 W4; 20. east along the north boundary of the south half of Secs. 19 and 20 to the east boundary of the west half of Sec. 20 in the Twp.; 21. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of Sec. 17 in the Twp.; 22. east along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 17 in the Twp.; 23. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 16 in the Twp.; 24. east along the north boundary of the south half to the east boundary of the west half of Sec. 16 in the Twp.; 25. south along the east boundary of the west half of Secs. 16 and 9 to the north boundary of Sec. 4 in the Twp.; 26. east along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 4 in the Twp.; 27. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 3 in the Twp.; 28. east along the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 3 to the east boundary of Sec. 3; 29. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of Twp. 7; 30. west along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 34 in Twp. 7, Rge. 18 W4; 31. south along the east boundary of Secs. 34, 27 and 22 to the north boundary of Sec. 15 in the Twp.; 32. west along the north boundary of Secs. 15, 16, 17 and 18 in the Twp. and the north boundary of Secs. 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 in Twp. 7, Rge. 19 W4 to the east boundary of Sec. 18 in the Twp.; 33. south along the east boundary of Secs. 18, 7 and 6 in the Twp. to the north boundary of Twp. 6; 34. west along the north boundary to the east boundary of Rge. 20 W4; 35. north along the east boundary to the north boundary of Sec. 1 in Twp. 7, Rge. 20 W4; 36. west along the north boundary of Secs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the Twp. and the north boundary of Sec. 1 in Twp. 7, Rge. 21 W4 to the east boundary of Sec. 11 in the Twp.; 37. north along the east boundary to the north boundary of Sec. 11 in the Twp.; 38. west along the north boundary of Secs. 11, 10 and 9 in the Twp. to the right bank of Pothole Creek; 39. downstream along the right bank of Pothole Creek to the right bank of the St. Mary River; 40. downstream along the right bank of the St. Mary River to the right bank of the Oldman River; 41. upstream along the right bank (by-passing and excluding the City of Lethbridge) to the east boundary of Sec. 30 in Twp. 10, Rge. 24 W4; 42. north along the east boundary of Secs. 30 and 31 in the Twp. to the north boundary of Twp. 10; 43. west along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 5 in Twp. 11, Rge. 24 W4; 44. north along the east boundary of Secs. 5, 8 and 17 to the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 17 in the Twp.; 45. west along the north boundary of the south half of Secs. 17 and 18 in the Twp. to the east boundary of Rge. 25 W4; 46. north along the east boundary to the right bank of the Little Bow River; 47. upstream along the right bank to the east boundary of Sec. 23 in Twp. 17, Rge. 27 W4; 48. north along the east boundary of Secs. 23, 26 and 35 in the Twp. and the east boundary of Secs. 2, 11, 14, 23, 26 and 35 in Twp. 18, Rge. 27 W4 to the north boundary of Twp. 18 (Highway 23); 49. east along the north boundary of Twp. 18 (Highway 23) to the east boundary of Sec. 2 in Twp. 19, Rge. 26 W4; 50. north along the east boundary of Secs. 2, 11, 14, 23, 26 and 35 in Twps. 19 and 20, Rge. 26 W4 and east boundary of Secs. 2, 11, 14 and 23 in Twp. 21, Rge. 26 W4 to the starting point. | |||
| Note: | |||
In the over-90-year history of this district, it has only been represented by five members of the Legislative Assembly. The recent history has shown voters in this riding tend to favour the candidate more than the party as shown by Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Raymond Speaker's lengthy term in office.
The Alberta Liberal Party held this riding for the first two elections in 1913 and 1917. From 1921 to 1935, through the entire term of the United Farmers of Alberta government, this riding elected United Farmer MLAs. Near the end of his term in office, former cabinet minister Oran McPherson went through a scandal-ridden divorce that made front page headlines. He lost favour with his constituents at a time when the United Farmers lost popularity.
Between 1935 and 1982, the riding elected Social Credit MLAs, including the almost unbeatable Raymond Speaker, who held it for 32 years. Speaker ended up crossing the floor three times before retiring in 1992 to run for the Canadian House of Commons.
After Speaker left in 1992, a contentious and divided by-election took place. Progressive Conservative candidate Barry McFarland barely retained this seat for the party. The Liberals came within inches of taking back Little Bow, with its best result in 70 years. Little Bow produced some of the worst results for the Alberta Liberal Party in their entire history. Since then, the Liberals have built up a base support but have not come close to another breakthrough.
Al Strom, son of the former Social Credit leader Harry Strom, also ran, hoping to retake one of the most loyal Social Credit seats. Two other right-wing parties ended up running and dividing the vote. Since 1992, Little Bow has remained a Progressive Conservative stronghold.
| Name | Party | Elected | Left Office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James McNaughton | Liberal | 1913 | 1921 | |
| Oran McPherson | United Farmers | 1921 | 1935 | |
| Peter Dawson | Social Credit | 1935 | 1963 | |
| Raymond Speaker | Social Credit | 1963 | 1982 | |
| Independent | 1982 | 1984 | ||
| Representative | 1984 | 1987 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | 1987 | 1992 | ||
| Barry McFarland | Progressive Conservative | 1992 | present |
| 2004 Alberta general election results[2] | Turnout 45.87% | |||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
|
| Progressive Conservative | Barry McFarland | 4,899 | 54.24% | |
| Liberal | Arij Langstraat | 1,961 | 21.71% | |
| Alberta Alliance | Jay Phin | 857 | 9.49% | |
| Social Credit | Brian Cook | 554 | 6.13% | |
| Separation | Grant Shaw | 433 | 4.79% | |
| NDP | Hugh Logie | 328 | 3.64% | |
| Total | 9,032 | 100% | ||
| Rejected, Spoiled and Declined | 67 | |||
| 2004 Senate nominee election results: Little Bow[3] | Turnout 45.49% | |||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % Votes | % Ballots | Rank | |
| Progressive Conservative | Bert Brown | 3,805 | 16.94% | 51.29% | 1 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Betty Unger | 2,861 | 12.74% | 38.56% | 2 | |
| Independent | Link Byfield | 2,771 | 12.33% | 37.35% | 4 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Cliff Breitkreuz | 2,184 | 9.72% | 29.44% | 3 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Jim Silye | 2,028 | 9.03% | 27.34% | 5 | |
| Alberta Alliance | Vance Gough | 1,992 | 8.87% | 26.85% | 8 | |
| Progressive Conservative | David Usherwood | 1,892 | 8.42% | 25.50% | 6 | |
| Alberta Alliance | Michael Roth | 1,843 | 8.20% | 24.84% | 7 | |
| Alberta Alliance | Gary Horan | 1,648 | 7.34% | 22.21% | 10 | |
| Independent | Tom Sindlinger | 1,442 | 6.41% | 19.44% | 9 | |
| Total Votes | 22,466 | 100% | ||||
| Total Ballots | 7,419 | 3.03 Votes Per Ballot | ||||
| Rejected, Spoiled and Declined | 2,712 | |||||
Voters had the option of selecting 4 Candidates on the Ballot
| 2001 Results | Turnout 56.66% | 1997 Results | Turnout 54.34% | 1993 Results | Turnout 66.30% | |||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
|||
| Progressive Conservative | Barry McFarland | 6,881 | 64.80% | Progressive Conservative | Barry McFarland | 6,726 | 69.56% | Progressive Conservative | Barry McFarland | 6,709 | 67.24% | |||
| Liberal | Arij Langstraat | 2,534 | 23.86% | Liberal | Alida Hess | 2,075 | 21.46% | Liberal | Donna Graham | 2,886 | 28.93% | |||
| Independent | Jon Koch | 885 | 8.33% | New Democrat | Marko Hilgersom | 868 | 8.98% | New Democrat | Rod Lachmuth | 382 | 3.82% | |||
| New Democrat | Andrea Enes | 319 | 3.00% | |||||||||||
| Total | 10,003 | 100% | Total | 10,636 | 100% | Total | 9,724 | 100% | ||||||
| 1992 By-Election Results | Turnout 60.99% | 1989 Results | Turnout 53.79% | 1986 Results | Turnout 62.12% | |||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
|||
| Progressive Conservative | Barry McFarland | 1,966 | 35.21% | Progressive Conservative | Raymond Speaker | 3,907 | 78.74% | Representative | Raymond Speaker | 3,791 | 63.65% | |||
| Liberal | Donna Graham | 1,704 | 30.51% | Liberal | Elzien Schopman | 579 | 11.67% | Progressive Conservative | Cliff Wright | 1,805 | 30.31% | |||
| New Democrat | Ruth Scalplock | 601 | 10.76% | New Democrat | Keith Ford | 476 | 9.59% | C.o.R. | Dean Oseen | 158 | 2.65% | |||
| Social Credit | Al Strom | 521 | 9.33% | New Democrat | Christina Tomaschuk | 137 | 2.30% | |||||||
| Alliance Alberta | Larry Haller | 399 | 7.14% | Liberal | Ben Loman | 65 | 1.09% | |||||||
| C.o.R. | Dean Oseen | 394 | 7.05% | |||||||||||
| Total | 5,585 | 100% | Total | 4,919 | 100% | Total | 5,966 | 100% | ||||||
| 1982 Results | Turnout 77.77% | 1979 Results | Turnout 69.59% | 1975 Results | Turnout 74.04% | |||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
|||
| Independent | Raymond Speaker | 3,174 | 50.09% | Social Credit | Raymond Speaker | 3,748 | 65.63% | Social Credit | Raymond Speaker | 3,132 | 57.64% | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Cliff Wright | 2,144 | 33.83% | Progressive Conservative | Richard Papworth | 1,684 | 29.48% | Progressive Conservative | George McMorris | 2,019 | 37.15% | |||
| Western Canada Concept | Wayne Lawlor | 851 | 13.43% | New Democrat | Beth Jantzie | 236 | 4.13% | Liberal | Ben Loman | 157 | 2.89% | |||
| New Democrat | Beth Jantzie | 168 | 2.65% | Liberal | John Fujimargari | 43 | 0.75% | New Democrat | Wayne Doolittle | 126 | 2.31% | |||
| Total | 6,352 | 100% | Total | 5,733 | 100% | Total | 5,445 | 100% | ||||||
| 1971 Results | Turnout 78.84% | 1967 Results | Turnout 66.55% | 1963 Results | Turnout 69.72% | |||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
|||
| Social Credit | Raymond Speaker | 3,400 | 58.52% | Social Credit | Raymond Speaker | 3,368 | 68.48% | Social Credit | Raymond Speaker | 3,367 | 64.00% | |||
| Progressive Conservative | John Green | 2,114 | 36.39% | Independent | Arthur Ulrich | 978 | 19.89% | Progressive Conservative | Doug Galbraith | 1,245 | 23.66% | |||
| New Democrat | Edward Rodney | 295 | 5.08% | New Democrat | John Head | 572 | 11.63% | Liberal | Arthur Ulrich | 649 | 12.34% | |||
| Total | 5,820 | 100% | Total | 4,933 | 100% | Total | 5,286 | 100% | ||||||
| 1959 Results | Turnout 78.24% | 1955 Results | Turnout 75.24% | 1952 Results | Turnout 70.99% | |||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
|||
| Social Credit | Peter Dawson | 2,668 | 62.63% | Social Credit | Peter Dawson | 2,481 | 53.85% | Social Credit | Peter Dawson | 2,668 | 65.39% | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Bernard Tonken | 989 | 23.22% | Liberal | Varno Westersund | 1,359 | 29.50% | Liberal | Maxwell Morrison | 1,001 | 24.53% | |||
| Liberal | Donald McNiven | 603 | 14.15% | Conservative | Norman Scotney | 510 | 11.07% | Co-operative Commonwealth Fed. | David Smith | 411 | 10.07% | |||
| Total | 4,542 | 100% | Total | 4,607 | 100% | Total | 4,345 | 100% | ||||||
| 1948 Results | Turnout 75.08% | 1944 Results | Turnout 76.36% | 1940 Results | Turnout 86.01% | |||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
|||
| Social Credit | Peter Dawson | 1,865 | 55.08% | Social Credit | Peter Dawson | 1,958 | 55.14% | Social Credit | Peter Dawson | 2,162 | 51.53% | |||
| Independent | George Carson | 1,086 | 32.07% | Independent | J.D. Hagerman | 826 | 23.26% | Independent | E.H. Griffin | 2,034 | 48.47% | |||
| Co-operative Commonwealth Fed. | John P. Griffin | 435 | 12.85% | Co-operative Commonwealth Fed. | Rudolph Kotkas | 767 | 21.60% | |||||||
| Total | 3,559 | 100% | Total | 3,569 | 100% | Total | 4,324 | 100% | ||||||
| 1935 Results | Turnout 87.91% | 1930 Results | Turnout n/a | 1926 Results | Turnout 77.93% | ||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
|||
| Social Credit | Peter Dawson | 2,322 | 66.34% | United Farmers | Oran McPherson | Acclaimed | United Farmers | Oran McPherson | 1,367 | 57.01% | |||
| United Farmers | Oran McPherson | 704 | 20.11% | Liberal | James McNaughton | 556 | 23.19% | ||||||
| Liberal | L.H. Stack | 474 | 13.54% | Conservative | P.M. Patterson | 475 | 19.81% | ||||||
| Total | 3,613 | 100% | Total | n/a | Total | 2,398 | 100% | ||||||
| 1921 Results | Turnout 73.97% | 1917 Results | Turnout 35.90% | 1913 Results | Turnout 78.22% | |||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
|||
| United Farmers | Oran McPherson | 1,554 | 64.48% | Liberal | James McNaughton | 808 | 77.39% | Liberal | James McNaughton | 721 | 52.02% | |||
| Liberal | James McNaughton | 856 | 35.52% | Socialist | Homer Thomas | 236 | 22.61% | Conservative | John T. MacDonald | 339 | 24.46% | |||
| Independent | F.A. Bryant | 202 | 14.57% | |||||||||||
| Independent | Alfred Buddon | 124 | 8.95% | |||||||||||
| Total | 2,410 | 100% | Total | 1,044 | 100% | Total | 1,386 | 100% | ||||||
By-elections
Floor-crossings
| Participating Schools[4] |
|---|
| Calvin Christian School |
| Champion School |
| Coalhurst High School |
| Dorothy Danliesh Elementary School |
| Huntsville School |
| Lomond Colony School |
| Noble Central School |
| Picture Butte High School |
| R.I. Baker Middle School |
| St. Josephs School |
On November 19, 2004 a Student Vote was conducted at participating Alberta schools to parallel the 2004 Alberta general election results. The vote was designed to educate students and simulate the electoral process for persons who have not yet reached the legal majority. The vote was conducted in 80 of the 83 provincial electoral districts with students voting for actual election candidates. Schools with a large student body that reside in another electoral district had the option to vote for candidates outside of the electoral district then where they were physically located.
| 2004 Alberta Student Vote results[5] | ||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
|
| Progressive Conservative | Barry McFarland | 396 | 41.12% | |
| Liberal | Arij Langstraat | 176 | 18.28% | |
| New Democrat | Hugh Logie | 114 | 11.84% | |
| Alberta Alliance | Jay Phin | 106 | 11.01% | |
| Social Credit | Brian Cook | 98 | 10.17% | |
| Separation | Grant Shaw | 73 | 7.58% | |
| Total | 963 | 100% | ||
| Rejected, Spoiled and Declined | 74 | |||
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? |
| 1,069 28.42% | 2,716 71.76% |
| Province wide result: Option A passed. | |
| 1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Little Bow[6] | |||
| 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 | % | |
| Yes | 1,584 | 51.50% | |
| No | 1,492 | 48.50% | |
| Total Votes | 3,076 | 100% | |
| Rejected, Spoiled and Declined | 1 | ||
| 5,715 Eligible Electors, Turnout 53.84% | |||
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.[7]
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.[6]
Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Little Bow just barely voted in favour of the proposal with both sides polling a strong vote. Voter turnout in the district was one of the best in the province, significantly above the province wide average of 46%.[6]
Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957.[6] The Social Credit government in power at the time did not considered the results binding.[8] However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.[9]
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.[10]
District data from the 1967 Daylight Saving Plebiscite
| Do you favour province-wide daylight saving time? | |||
| For | Against | ||
| 1,365 27.98% | 3,185 72.01% | ||
| Province wide result: Failed | |||
District data from the 1971 Daylight Saving Plebiscite
| Do you favour province-wide daylight saving time? | |||
| For | Against | ||
| 2,306 40.17% | 3,434 59.83% | ||
| Province wide result: Passed | |||