Cypress was a
provincial electoral district
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
in
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 ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, 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
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sin ...
from 1926 to 1986.
History
The Cypress electoral district was formed prior to the
1926 Alberta general election when the
Medicine Hat
Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, ...
electoral district was split, with the territory surrounding the
City of Medicine Hat being retained in the Medicine Hat district and the remaining territory south of the city to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
border forming the new Cypress district.
The Cypress electoral district would be abolished prior to the
1986 Alberta general election, with a small portion in the south-east becoming part of
Taber-Warner
Taber-Warner is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is mandated to return a single member to the for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The district has existed twice: the first iteration was represented in the A ...
and the remaining portions becoming the
Cypress-Redcliff electoral district.
Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)
Election results
1926 general election
1930 general election
1935 general election
1940 general election
1944 general election
1948 general election
1952 general election
1955 general election
1959 general election
1963 general election
1967 general election
1971 general election
1975 general election
1979 general election
1982 general election
Plebiscite results
1957 liquor plebiscite
On October 30, 1957 a stand-alone plebiscite was held province wide in all 50 of the then current provincial electoral districts in
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 ...
. 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.
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.
Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Cypress voted against the proposal by a close margin. The voter turnout in the district was almost equal to the province wide average of 46%.
Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957.
The Social Credit government in power at the time did not consider the results binding.
However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new ''Liquor Act''.
Municipal districts lying inside electoral districts that voted against the plebiscite such as Cypress 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.
See also
*
List of Alberta provincial electoral districts
Alberta provincial electoral districts are currently single member ridings that each elect one member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. There are 87 districts fixed in law in Alberta.
History
The original twenty five districts were drawn u ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
Elections AlbertaThe Legislative Assembly of Alberta
{{coord missing, Alberta
Former provincial electoral districts of Alberta