Banff was a territorial electoral district that was mandated to return a single

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

to the

North-West Legislative Assembly The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories (with Northwest hyphenated as North-West until 1906), is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a un ...

from 1891 until

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

became a province in 1905.

Geography

The electoral district was named for Banff, covering the Alberta portion of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

and foothills west of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)

Banff's first representative was physician

Robert Brett Robert George Brett (November 16, 1851 – September 16, 1929) was a politician and physician in the North-West Territories and Alberta, Canada and served as the second Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. Early life Robert George Brett was born on ...

, who had already served one term as MLA for

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

, and served two full terms in Banff. There were no official parties in these early assemblies, but Brett aligned himself with the

Northwest Territories Liberal Party The North-West Territories Liberal Party was a short-lived branch of the Liberal Party of Canada in the North-West Territories. History The party existed between 1898 and 1905. In 1905, the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created from ...

when the Dominion party lines were introduced in 1898. In the 1898 election, Brett appeared to have held his seat against challenger

Arthur Sifton Arthur Lewis Watkins Sifton (October 26, 1858 – January 21, 1921) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and politician who served as the second premier of Alberta from 1910 until 1917. He became a minister in the federal cabinet of Canada thereaf ...

, but Sifton challenged the results in court and proceeded to win the ensuing by-election. In

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's f ...

, he easily defended his seat. When Sifton was appointed as a judge in early 1903, another by-election was held in Banff, this time won by

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate Charles Fisher. In 1905 when Alberta became a province, Fisher ran in the new Banff district and defeated previous MLA Robert Brett (now running as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

) to retain the seat.

Election results

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

References

External links

Website of the Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories
{{coord missing, Northwest Territories Former electoral districts of Northwest Territories