Okotoks-High River was a

provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

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 ...

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 singl ...

from 1930 to 1971.

History

The Okotoks—High River electoral district was formed prior to the

1930 Alberta general election Year 193 ( CXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sosius and Ericius (or, less frequently, year 946 ''Ab urbe condit ...

from the

Okotoks Okotoks (, originally ) is a town in the Calgary Region of Alberta, Canada. It is on the Sheep River, approximately south of Calgary. Okotoks has emerged as a bedroom community of Calgary. According to the 2016 Census, the town has a population ...

electoral district, northern portion of the

High River High River is a town within the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is approximately south of Calgary, at the junction of Alberta Highways 2 and 23. High River had a population of 14,324 in 2021. History The community take ...

electoral district, and a small portion of the

Rocky Mountain 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 ...

electoral district. The electoral district was named after the Town of Okotoks and Town of High River. The Okotoks-High River electoral district would be abolished in the 1971 electoral boundary re-distribution, and merge with the northern portion of the

Pincher Creek-Crowsnest Pincher Creek-Crowsnest was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1940 to 1993. History The Pincher Creek-Crowsnest electoral district was formed pr ...

electoral district to form the Highwood electoral district.

Electoral history

The first member of the Legislative Assembly elected in the Okotoks-High River electoral district was

United Farmers of Alberta The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...

representative George Hoadley, who had previously held the former Okotoks electoral district through its entire history from 1909 to 1930. Hoadly would soundly defeat his

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 ...

opponent and former Mayor from 1928-1929 Malcolm MacGougan. Hoadley would fail to hold the seat in the

1935 Alberta general election The 1935 Alberta general election was held on August 22, 1935, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The newly founded Social Credit Party of Alberta won a sweeping victory, unseating the 14-year government of the United Farmer ...

, falling to Social Credit candidate William Morrison. Morrison would defeat two other candidates, Liberal A. S. Dick and future Mayor of Okotoks and

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 ...

Victor E. Hessell. Morrison would only represent the district for a couple of weeks before resigning to provide a seat for newly confirmed party leader and

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

William Aberhart William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as "Bible Bill" for his outspoken Baptist views, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943. He was the founder and first leader o ...

. Aberhart had convinced Morrison to resign so that he could take the seat and provide cabinet representation to southern Alberta to quell complaints about the lack of ministers for the region. Morrison's resignation occurred before the newly elected Legislative Assembly had its first sitting. Aberhart would only represent the district for one sitting, choosing to contest the

1940 Alberta general election The 1940 Alberta general election was held on March 21, 1940, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Despite its failure to implement its key policy, providing prosperity certificates to all Albertans, the Social Credit Party ...

in the Calgary electoral district.

Election results

1930 general election

1935 general election

1935 by-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

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

. 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. Okotoks-High River voted in favour of the proposal by a wide margin. Voter turnout in the district was well above 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 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.

References

External links

Elections AlbertaThe Legislative Assembly of Alberta
{{Coord , 50.65, N, 113.92, W, display=title Former provincial electoral districts of Alberta High River Okotoks