Whitewood (N.W.T. electoral district)

Whitewood, was a territorial electoral district in the Northwest Territories of Canada from 1887 to 1905. The district was created from the former district of Broadview, prior to the 1888 general election.

This district was the first to use a secret ballot. During the 1894 By-election, ballots were first used in this electoral district. The territory went to using colored pencils on paper to count ballots, except someone forgot the pencil for the Candidate William Clements at the Fairmede polling station, and one had to be sent out from the Chief electoral office in Regina. Fred Chamberlain, the local liveryman, drove his horse and carriage twenty-five miles through a raging blizzard to deliver a new pencil and arrived just before the polls opened.

After the province of Saskatchewan split from the Northwest Territories in 1905, Whitewood continued to exist as a district in Saskatchewan until 1908.

Election results

1894 – 1902

1902 Results 1898 Results 1894 Results
Affiliation Candidate Votes Candidate Votes Candidate Votes %
     Liberal-Conservative Archibald Beaton Gillis Acclaimed Archibald Beaton Gillis Acclaimed Archibald Beaton Gillis 300 51.64%
W.C. Thorburn 281 48.36%

1888 – 1894

1894 by-election Results 1891 Results 1888 Results
Candidate Votes % Candidate Votes % Candidate Votes %
Joseph Clementson 187 ?% Daniel Campbell 197 45.92% Alexander Thorburn 166 38.88%
James Sumner 25 ?% Alexander Thorburn 178 41.49% Thomas Lyons 158 37.00%
Allan B. Potter 69 ?% John Hawkes 54 12.59% John Hawkes 103 26.12%
William Clements 41 ?%

Note: Vote returns not complete for the 1894 By-election. Returns only include the polls from Whitewood and Broadview, they do not include the rural stations. As reported in the Lethbridge Herald February 22, 1894. The Broadview and Whitewood polls were announced by the returning officer on February 16, 1894, and the rural vote was announced February 17, 1894 but was not printed.

By-election reasons

External links