Edson (provincial electoral district)

Edson

Alberta electoral district
Defunct provincial electoral district
Legislature	Legislative Assembly of Alberta
District created	1913
District abolished	1986
First contested	1913
Last contested	1982

Edson was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1913 to 1986.

History

The electoral district was created during the 1913 Alberta general election from all of Lac Ste. Anne and the western portions of the Innsifail, Olds, Stony Plain and Red Deer provincial electoral districts.

Despite numerous boundary revisions in the province, Edson kept most of its original area. The riding was abolished into the new West Yellowhead riding in 1986.

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Edson
Assembly	Years	Member		Party
3rd	1913–1917		Charles Wilson Cross	Liberal
4th	1917–1921
5th	1921–1926
6th	1926–1930		Christopher Pattinson	Dominion Labor
7th	1930–1935
8th	1935–1940		Joseph Unwin	United Farmers
9th	1940–1944		Angus James Morrison	Dominion Labor
10th	1944–1948		Norman Willmore	Social Credit
11th	1948–1952
12th	1952–1955
13th	1955–1959
14th	1959–1963
15th	1963–1967
16th	1967–1971		William Switzer	Liberal
17th	1971–1975		Robert Wagner Dowling	Progressive Conservative
18th	1975–1979
19th	1979–1982		Ian Reid
20th	1982–1986
See West Yellowhead electoral district from 1986-Present

Election results

1913

1913 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Wilson Cross	671	51.03%	–
	Conservative	H. H. Verge	644	48.97%	–
Total			1,315	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Liberal pickup new district.
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1913 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1917

1917 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Wilson Cross	1,116	62.91%	11.88%
	Conservative	J. R. McIntosh	455	25.65%	-23.32%
	Socialist	John Reid	203	11.44%	–
Total			1,774	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		-5.72%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1917 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1921

1921 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Wilson Cross	1,321	57.94%	-4.97%
	Dominion Labor	John Diamond	959	42.06%	–
Total			2,280	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		-10.44%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1921 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1926

1926 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
First count
	Dominion Labor	Christopher Pattinson	1,116	40.13%	-1.93%
	Conservative	A. McIntyre	963	34.63%	–
	Liberal	F. J. Doyle	702	25.24%	-32.70%
Total			2,781	–	–
Ballot transfer results
	Dominion Labor	Christopher Pattinson	1,219	51.70%	–
	Conservative	A. McIntyre	1,139	48.30%	–
	Liberal	F. J. Doyle	Eliminated	–	–
Total			2,358	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			5	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			4,765	58.47%	–
	Dominion Labor gain from Liberal		Swing		-5.67%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1926 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1930

1930 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Dominion Labor	Christopher Pattinson	2,434	75.80%	35.73%
	Liberal	Chas. E. Payne	777	24.20%	-1.04%
Total			3,211	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			139	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			5,455	61.41%	–
	Dominion Labor hold		Swing		23.53%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1930 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1935

1935 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
First count
	Social Credit	Joseph Unwin	2,154	41.52%	–
	Liberal	John Sedgwick Cowper	1,620	31.23%	7.03%
	Dominion Labor	Christopher Pattinson	1,414	27.26%	-48.54%
Total			5,188	–	–
Ballot transfer results
	Social Credit	Joseph Unwin	2,443	54.16%	–
	Liberal	John Sedgwick Cowper	2,068	45.84%	–
	Dominion Labor	Christopher Pattinson	Eliminated	–	–
Total			4,511	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			279	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			7,192	76.02%	–
	Social Credit gain from Dominion Labor		Swing		-25.80%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1935 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1940

1940 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
First count
	Dominion Labor	Angus James Morrison	2,211	44.59%	17.33%
	Social Credit	Joseph Unwin	1,949	39.31%	-2.31%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	W. L. Dickout	798	16.10%	–
Total			4,958	–	–
Ballot transfer results
	Dominion Labor	Angus James Morrison	2,558	54.92%	–
	Social Credit	Joseph Unwin	2,100	45.08%	–
	Co-operative Commonwealth	W. L. Dickout	Eliminated	–	–
Total			4,658	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			298	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			7,228	71.78%	–
	Dominion Labor gain from Social Credit		Swing		0.00%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1944

1944 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Norman Willmore	2,536	57.60%	18.29%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	W. H. Dixon	1,280	29.07%	12.97%
	Labor–Progressive	George Brownlow	587	13.33%	–
Total			4,403	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			111	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,747	66.90%	–
	Social Credit gain from Dominion Labor		Swing		14.26%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1944 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1948

1948 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Norman Willmore	2,543	50.58%	-7.02%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Christopher Pattinson	1,715	34.11%	5.04%
	Liberal	William E. Robinson	770	15.31%	–
Total			5,028	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			428	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			8,337	65.44%	–
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-6.03%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1948 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1952

1952 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Norman Willmore	2,480	55.79%	5.22%
	Liberal	William Switzer	1,965	44.21%	28.89%
Total			4,445	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			335	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			7,862	60.80%	–
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-2.44%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1952 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1955

1955 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Norman Willmore	2,529	51.96%	-3.83%
	Liberal	William Switzer	2,146	44.09%	-0.11%
	Conservative	Thomas Booker	192	3.94%	–
Total			4,867	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			445	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			7,515	70.69%	–
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-1.86%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1955 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1959

1959 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Norman Willmore	3,074	57.07%	5.11%
	Progressive Conservative	Chris. H. R. Nielsen	1,678	31.15%	–
	Liberal	Melvyn A. Parkyn	634	11.77%	-32.32%
Total			5,386	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			22	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			8,835	61.21%	–
	Social Credit hold		Swing		9.02%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1959 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1963

1963 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Norman Willmore	2,668	56.29%	-0.79%
	Liberal	Bertram E. Schoeppe	1,371	28.92%	17.15%
	New Democratic	James D. Torgersen	701	14.79%	–
Total			4,740	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			11	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			8,647	54.94%	–
	Social Credit hold		Swing		0.72%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1963 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1967

1967 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Switzer	2,803	41.03%	12.11%
	Social Credit	Arthur O. Jorgensen	2,372	34.72%	-21.56%
	New Democratic	Neil Reimer	1,656	24.24%	9.45%
Total			6,831	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			27	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			9,457	72.52%	–
	Liberal gain from Social Credit		Swing		-10.53%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1967 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1971

1971 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Robert Wagner Dowling	3,900	59.13%	–
	Social Credit	Rollie Mohr	1,947	29.52%	-5.21%
	New Democratic	Walter Seewitz	749	11.36%	-12.89%
Total			6,596	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			217	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			10,058	67.74%	–
	Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		11.65%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1971 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1975

1975 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Robert Wagner Dowling	3,872	65.09%	5.96%
	New Democratic	John Lindsay	1,426	23.97%	12.62%
	Social Credit	Ralph Bond	651	10.94%	-18.57%
Total			5,949	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			12	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			10,506	56.74%	–
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		5.75%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1975 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1979

1979 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Ian Reid	4,517	53.70%	-11.38%
	New Democratic	Ron Hodgins	2,958	35.17%	11.20%
	Social Credit	W.L. Land	676	8.04%	-2.91%
	Liberal	Herbert Maris	260	3.09%	–
Total			8,411	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			13,855	60.71%	–
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-11.29%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1979 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1982

1982 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Ian Reid	6,003	57.07%	3.36%
	New Democratic	Eilir Thomas	3,232	30.73%	-4.44%
	Western Canada Concept	Lynn Lewis	1,284	12.21%	–
Total			10,519	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			35	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			16,208	65.12%	–
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		3.90%
Source(s) Source: "Edson Official Results 1982 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

Plebiscite results

1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Edson [1]
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	2,222	82.08%
	No	485	17.92%
Total votes		2,707	100%
Rejected, spoiled and declined		14
7,823 eligible electors, turnout 34.82%

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. ^[2]

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 women should be allowed to drink together in establishments. ^[1]

Province wide, Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts, while Question B passed in all five districts. Edson voted in favour of the proposal, with the largest percentage in the province. Voter turnout in the district was dismal, falling significantly below the province wide average of 46%. ^[1]

Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957. ^[1] The Social Credit government in power at the time did not consider the results binding. ^[3] However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act. ^[4]

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 who wanted a license had to petition for a binding municipal plebiscite in order to be granted a license. ^[5]

See also

• List of Alberta provincial electoral districts

References

1. Alberta Gazette. Vol. 53 (December 31 ed.). Government of Alberta. 1957. pp. 2, 247–2, 249.
2. "Albertans Vote 2 to 1 For More Liquor Outlets". Vol L No 273. The Lethbridge Herald. October 31, 1957. pp. 1–2.
3. "No Sudden Change In Alberta Drinking Habits Is Seen". Vol L No 267. The Lethbridge Herald. October 24, 1957. p. 1.
4. "Entirely New Act On Liquor". Vol LI No 72. The Lethbridge Herald. March 5, 1958. p. 1.
5. "Bill 81". Alberta Bills 12th Legislature 1st Session. Government of Alberta. 1958. p. 40.

Further reading

• Office of the Chief Electoral Officer; Legislative Assembly Office (2006). A Century of Democracy: Elections of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1905-2005. The Centennial Series. Edmonton, AB: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. ISBN   0-9689217-8-7 . Retrieved May 25, 2020.

External links

• Elections Alberta
• The Legislative Assembly of Alberta

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