Bow Valley-Empress

Bow Valley-Empress was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1940 to 1971.[1]

Bow Valley-Empress
Alberta electoral district
Defunct provincial electoral district
LegislatureLegislative Assembly of Alberta
District created1940
District abolished1971
First contested1940
Last contested1967

History

Bow Valley-Empress was formed in the 1939 redistribution from Empress and Bow Valley.

The Bow Valley-Empress electoral district was dissolved in the 1970 electoral district re-distribution, and renamed Bow Valley.

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Bow Valley-Empress
Assembly Years Member Party
See Bow Valley electoral district from 1913-1940
and Empress electoral district from 1926-1940
9th  1940–1944     Wilson E. Cain Social Credit
10th  1944–1948
11th  1948–1952
12th  1952–1955
13th  1955–1959     Bryce C. Stringam Independent
14th  1959–1963     William Delday Social Credit
15th  1963–1967
16th  1967–1971 Fred T. Mandeville
See Bow Valley electoral district from 1971-1997

Election results

1940 general election
1940 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Social CreditWilson E. Cain2,03553.59%–
IndependentE. L. Gray1,76246.41%–
Total 3,797––
Rejected, spoiled and declined 146––
Eligible electors / turnout 5,59670.46%–
Social Credit pickup new district.
Source(s)
Source: "Bow Valley-Empress Official Results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1944 general election
1944 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Social CreditWilson E. Cain2,13156.24%2.65%
Co-operative CommonwealthJohn Fowlie1,03327.26%–
IndependentT. S. Montgomerie62516.50%-29.91%
Total 3,789––
Rejected, spoiled and declined 144––
Eligible electors / turnout 5,29074.35%3.89%
Social Credit hold Swing 10.89%
Source(s)
Source: "Bow Valley-Empress Official Results 1944 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1948 general election
1948 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Social CreditWilson E. Cain2,17855.50%-0.74%
LiberalHerbert G. Claxton1,06327.09%–
Co-operative CommonwealthJohn William McLachlan68317.41%-9.86%
Total 3,924––
Rejected, spoiled and declined 312––
Eligible electors / turnout 6,15068.88%-5.47%
Social Credit hold Swing -0.28%
Source(s)
Source: "Bow Valley-Empress 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 CreditWilson E. Cain2,47561.34%5.83%
LiberalAlbert T. Johnson1,56038.66%11.57%
Total 4,035––
Rejected, spoiled and declined 352––
Eligible electors / turnout 6,46367.88%-1.00%
Social Credit hold Swing -2.87%
Source(s)
Source: "Bow Valley-Empress Official Results 1952 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1955 general election
1955 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
IndependentBryce C. Stringam2,56952.44%–
Social CreditWilliam Delday2,33047.56%-13.78%
Total 4,899––
Rejected, spoiled and declined 234––
Eligible electors / turnout 6,88774.53%6.65%
Independent gain from Social Credit Swing -8.90%
Source(s)
Source: "Bow Valley-Empress 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 CreditWilliam Delday2,86356.40%8.84%
IndependentBryce C. Stringam2,21343.60%-8.84%
Total 5,076––
Rejected, spoiled and declined 4––
Eligible electors / turnout 6,90873.78%-0.75%
Social Credit gain from Independent Swing 3.96%
Source(s)
Source: "Bow Valley-Empress 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 CreditWilliam Delday2,87160.24%3.84%
Progressive ConservativeGeorge A. Simpson97220.39%–
LiberalGeorge Timko92319.37%–
Total 4,766––
Rejected, spoiled and declined 4––
Eligible electors / turnout 7,08867.30%-6.49%
Social Credit hold Swing 13.52%
Source(s)
Source: "Bow Valley-Empress 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 CreditFred T. Mandeville2,52549.59%-10.65%
CoalitionBen M. MacLeod2,01839.63%–
New DemocraticCalvin Steinley54910.78%–
Total 5,092––
Rejected, spoiled and declined 44––
Eligible electors / turnout 6,92274.20%6.90%
Social Credit hold Swing -14.94%
Source(s)
Source: "Bow Valley-Empress Official Results 1967 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

Plebiscite results

1957 liquor plebiscite
1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Bow Valley-Empress[2]
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 1,818 54.86%
No 1,496 45.14%
Total votes 3,314 100%
Rejected, spoiled and declined 11
6,341 eligible electors, turnout 52.44%

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.[3]

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.[2]

Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Bow Valley-Empress voted in favour of the proposal by a solid margin. The district recorded one of the higher turnouts in the province, well above the province wide average of 46%.[2]

Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957.[2] The Social Credit government in power at the time did not consider the results binding.[4] However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.[5]

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.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Election results for Bow Valley-Empress". abheritage.ca. Wayback Machine: Heritage Community Foundation. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  2. Alberta Gazette. 53 (December 31 ed.). Government of Alberta. 1957. pp. 2, 247–2, 249.
  3. "Albertans Vote 2 to 1 For More Liquor Outlets". Vol L No 273. The Lethbridge Herald. October 31, 1957. pp. 1–2.
  4. "No Sudden Change In Alberta Drinking Habits Is Seen". Vol L No 267. The Lethbridge Herald. October 24, 1957. p. 1.
  5. "Entirely New Act On Liquor". Vol LI No 72. The Lethbridge Herald. March 5, 1958. p. 1.
  6. "Bill 81". Alberta Bills 12th Legislature 1st Session. Government of Alberta. 1958. p. 40.

Further reading


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