Lethbridge (provincial electoral district)

Lethbridge was a provincial electoral district in Alberta mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1909, and again from 1921 to 1971.[1]

Lethbridge

Alberta electoral district
Defunct provincial electoral district
Legislature	Legislative Assembly of Alberta
District created	1905
District abolished	1909
District re-created	1921
District re-abolished	1971
First contested	1905
Last contested	1967

History

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Lethbridge
Assembly	Years	Member		Party
1st	1905–1906		Leverett George DeVeber	Liberal
	1906–1909		William Charles Simmons
See Lethbridge District electoral district from 1909-1913 and Lethbridge City electoral district from 1909-1921
5th	1921–1926		John Smith Stewart	Independent
6th	1926–1930		Andrew Smeaton	Labor
7th	1930–1935
8th	1935–1937		Hans E. Wight	Social Credit
	1937–1940		Peter M. Campbell	Independent
9th	1940–1944
10th	1944–1948		John C. Landeryou	Social Credit
11th	1948–1952
12th	1952–1955
13th	1955–1959
14th	1959–1963
15th	1963–1967
16th	1967–1971
See Lethbridge-East electoral district from 1971-Present and Lethbridge-West electoral district from 1971-Present

The riding has existed twice, from 1905 to 1909, and again from 1921 to 1971. The Lethbridge electoral district was founded as one of the original 25 electoral districts contested in the 1905 Alberta general election upon Alberta joining Confederation in September 1905. The electoral district was a continuation of the Lethbridge electoral district responsible for returning a single member to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1891 to 1905.[2]

In 1905, the Lethbridge electoral district covered a large patch of southern Alberta and was subsequently 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.

The Lethbridge electoral district was abolished in the 1971 electoral district re-distribution, and the territory was formed into Lethbridge-East and Lethbridge-West electoral districts.

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

Representation

Liberal Leverett George DeVeber was elected as the first representative for the Lethbridge electoral district in 1905, DeVeber had previously held the Lethbridge seat in the Northwest Territories Legislature from 1898 to 1905.[2][3] DeVeber's time as the representative was short as he was appointed to the Senate on March 8, 1906.[4]

Election results

1905 general election

1905 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leverett George DeVeber	639	56.55%	–
	Conservative	William Carlos Ives	491	43.45%	–
Total			1,130	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Liberal pickup new district.
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1905 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1906 by-election

Alberta provincial by-election, April 12, 1906 Upon Leverett George DeVeber's appointment to the Senate of Canada on March 8, 1906
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Charles Simmons	543	43.90%	–
	Labor	Frank Henry Sherman	463	37.43%	–
	Conservative	A. E. Keffer	231	18.67%	–
Total			1,237	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		N/A
Source(s) "By-elections". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 26, 2020.

1921 general election

1921 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	John Smith Stewart	2,252	62.11%	–
	Labor	John Marsh	1,374	37.89%	–
Total			3,626	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			5,549	65.35%	–
	Independent pickup new district.
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1921 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1926 general election

1926 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes 1st count	%	Votes final count	±%
	Labor	Andrew Smeaton	1,584	37.11%	1,962	-0.78%
	Conservative	Richard R. Davidson	1,459	34.18%	1,713	–
	Liberal	Walter S. Galbraith	1,225	28.70%	–	–
Total			4,268	–	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			273	–	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,353	71.48%	6.13%	–
	Labor gain from Independent		Swing		-10.64%
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1926 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Instant-runoff voting requires a candidate to receive a plurality (greater than 50%) of the votes. As no candidate received a plurality of votes, the bottom candidate was eliminated and their 2nd place votes were applied to both other candidates until one received a plurality.

1930 general election

1930 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes 1st count	%	Votes final count	±%
	Labor	Andrew Smeaton	2,036	43.89%	2,238	6.78%
	Independent	William D. L. Hardie	1,598	34.45%	1,978	–
	Independent	Robert Barrowman	1,005	21.66%	–	–
Total			4,639	–	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			308	–	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			7,377	67.06%	-4.42%	–
	Labor hold		Swing		3.26%
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1930 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Instant-runoff voting requires a candidate to receive a plurality (greater than 50%) of the votes. As no candidate received a plurality of votes, the bottom candidate was eliminated and their 2nd place votes were applied to both other candidates until one received a plurality.

1935 general election

1935 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Hans E. Wight	3,700	55.71%	–
	Liberal	Robert Barrowman	1,946	29.30%	–
	Labor	Andrew Smeaton	654	9.85%	-34.04%
	Conservative	G. W. Green	341	5.13%	–
Total			6,641	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			182	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			8,360	81.61%	14.56%
	Social Credit gain from Labor		Swing		8.48%
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1935 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1937 by-election

Alberta provincial by-election, December 2, 1937 Upon the resignation of Hans E. Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Movement	Peter M. Campbell	4,099	55.56%	–
	Social Credit	A. J. Burnap	3,279	44.44%	-11.27%
Total valid votes			7,378	–	–
Rejected, spoiled, and declined			–	–	–
Electors / turnout			–	–	–
	Independent Movement gain from Social Credit		Swing		N/A
Source(s) "By-elections". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 26, 2020.

1940 general election

1940 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Movement	Peter M. Campbell	4,318	61.01%	5.55%
	Social Credit	A. E. Smith	2,760	38.99%	-5.45%
Total			7,078	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			274	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			8,815	83.40%	1.79%
	Independent Movement hold		Swing		-2.20%
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1944 general election

1944 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes 1st count	%	Votes final count	±%
	Social Credit	John C. Landeryou	2,367	37.59%	2,692	-1.40%
	Independent	David Horton Elton	2,247	35.68%	2,388	–
	Co-operative Commonwealth	B. F. Tanner	1,464	23.25%	–	–
	Labor–Progressive	Eugene Scully	219	3.48%	–	–
Total			6,297	–	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			42	–	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			9,190	68.98%	-14.43%	–
	Social Credit gain from Independent Movement		Swing		-10.05%
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1944 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Instant-runoff voting requires a candidate to receive a plurality (greater than 50%) of the votes. As no candidate received a plurality of votes, the bottom candidate was eliminated and their 2nd place votes were applied to both other candidates until one received a plurality.

1948 general election

1948 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	John C. Landeryou	3,829	54.40%	16.82%
	Liberal	H. B. McLaughlin	1,768	25.12%	–
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Emil S. Vaselenak	1,441	20.47%	-2.77%
Total			7,038	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			507	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			11,611	64.98%	-4.00%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		13.69%
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1948 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1952 general election

1952 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	John C. Landeryou	4,975	72.35%	17.95%
	Liberal	Rex J. Tennant	1,901	27.65%	2.53%
Total			6,876	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			658	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			14,018	53.75%	-11.24%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		7.71%
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1952 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1955 general election

1955 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	John C. Landeryou	4,788	50.28%	-22.07%
	Liberal	Alan Cullen	3,361	35.30%	7.65%
	Conservative	C.J. Black	883	9.27%	–
	Co-operative Commonwealth	James E. Helwig	490	5.15%	–
Total			9,522	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			418	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			15,635	63.58%	9.83%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-14.86%
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1955 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1959 general election

1959 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	John C. Landeryou	7,250	62.01%	11.72%
	Progressive Conservative	Thomas Spanos	2,917	24.95%	–
	Liberal	Robery Henry Jeacock	1,525	13.04%	-22.25%
Total			11,692	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			45	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			18,119	64.78%	1.20%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		11.04%
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1959 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1963 general election

1963 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	John C. Landeryou	6,975	60.23%	-1.78%
	Liberal	Alan Cullen	3,786	32.69%	19.65%
	New Democratic	James Taylor	820	7.08%	–
Total			11,581	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			34	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			20,117	57.74%	-7.04%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-4.76%
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1963 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1967 general election

1967 Alberta general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	John C. Landeryou	6,155	44.42%	-15.80%
	Progressive Conservative	Wilfred Browns	4,128	29.79%	–
	Liberal	John I. Boras	2,237	16.15%	-16.55%
	New Democratic	Klaas Buijert	1,335	9.64%	2.55%
Total			13,855	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			49	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			21,449	64.82%	7.09%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-6.45%
Source(s) Source: "Lethbridge Official Results 1967 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

Plebiscite results

1923 prohibition plebiscite

Options presented on the ballot	Votes[5]	%
(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[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	%
	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.[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. 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.[7] 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.[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 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.[10]

See also

• Alberta provincial electoral districts
• Lethbridge, Alberta, a city in Alberta, Canada
• Lethbridge (N.W.T. electoral district), an electoral district of the Northwest Territories, Canada between 1891 and 1905

References

1. "Election results for Lethbridge". abheritage.ca. Heritage Community Foundation. Archived from the original on 8 December 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
2. "North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. p. 27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
3. "Lethbridge Official Results 1905 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
4. "The Hon. Leverett George DeVeber, Senator". Parlinfo. Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
5. "Official Referendum Vote In Lethbridge". Lethbridge Daily Herald. November 16, 1923. p. 1.
6. Alberta Gazette. 53 (December 31 ed.). Government of Alberta. 1957. pp. 2, 247–2, 249.
7. "Albertans Vote 2 to 1 For More Liquor Outlets". Vol L No 273. The Lethbridge Herald. October 31, 1957. pp. 1–2.
8. "No Sudden Change In Alberta Drinking Habits Is Seen". Vol L No 267. The Lethbridge Herald. October 24, 1957. p. 1.
9. "Entirely New Act On Liquor". Vol LI No 72. The Lethbridge Herald. March 5, 1968. p. 1.
10. "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 25 May 2020.

External links

• Elections Alberta
• The Legislative Assembly of Alberta