Okotoks-High River

Okotoks-High River was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district was mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1930 to 1971.

A new electoral district bearing the same name and covering a similar area has been proposed by the electoral boundaries commission as part of the current boundary redistribution.

Plebiscite results

1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Okotoks-High River[1]
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	2,088	62.18%
	No	1,270	37.82%
Total Votes		3,358	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined		33
6,602 Eligible Electors, Turnout 51.36%

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.^[2]

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.^[1]

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%.^[1]

Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957.^[1] The Social Credit government in power at the time did not considered the results binding.^[3] However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.^[4]

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 that wanted a license had to petition for a binding municipal plebiscite in order to be granted a license.^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Alberta Gazette. 53 (December 31 ed.). Government of Alberta. 1957. pp. 2,247-2,249. 
2. ^ "Albertans Vote 2 to 1 For More Liquor Outlets". Vol L No 273 (The Lethbridge Herald): pp. 1–2. October 31, 1957. 
3. ^ "No Sudden Change In Alberta Drinking Habits Is Seen". Vol L No 267 (The Lethbridge Herald): p. 1. October 24, 1957. 
4. ^ "Entirely New Act On Liquor". Vol LI No 72 (The Lethbridge Herald): p. 1. March 5, 1958. 
5. ^ "Bill 81". Alberta Bills 12th Legislature 1st Session. Government of Alberta. 1958. p. 40.