Medicine Hat (provincial electoral district)

Medicine Hat

Alberta electoral district
2004 boundaries
Provincial electoral district
Legislature	Legislative Assembly of Alberta
MLA	Rob Renner Progressive Conservative
District created	1905
District abolished	1971
District re-created	1979
First contested	1905
Last contested	2008

Medicine Hat is an Albertan provincial electoral district, covering most of the city of Medicine Hat.

Under the Alberta electoral boundary re-distribution of 2004, the constituency covers the portion of the city north of the South Saskatchewan River, the Trans-Canada Highway and Carry Drive. The rest of the city and surrounding area is part of the Cypress-Medicine Hat constituency.

The current Member of the Legislative Assembly for this district is Progressive Conservative Rob Renner. He was re-elected in the 26th Alberta general election.

Medicine Hat history

Boundary history

(1) Medicine Hat 1905 Boundaries[1]
Bordering Districts
North	East	West	South
Lacombe, Vermilion	None	Cardson, Gleichen, Innisfail, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Rosebud	None
riding map goes here		map in relation to other districts in Alberta goes here
Legal description from An Act to establish and provide for the Government of the Province of Alberta 1905.
The electoral division of Medicine Hat, bounded as follows:– Commencing at the intersection of the eastern boundary of the said province of Alberta by the north boundary of the 38th township; thence westerly along the north boundary of the 38th townships to the meridian between the 10th and 11th ranges, west of the 4th meridian; thence southerly along the meridian between the 10th and 11th ranges to the southern boundary of the said province of Alberta; thence easterly along the said southern boundary of the province of Alberta to the south­east corner thereof; thence northerly along the eastern boundary of the said province of Alberta to the point of commencement.
Note: Original electoral boundaries

68 Medicine Hat 2003 Boundaries[2]
Bordering Districts
North	East	West	South
Cypress-Medicine Hat	Cypress-Medicine Hat	Cypress-Medicine Hat	Cypress-Medicine Hat
riding map goes here		map in relation to other districts in Alberta goes here
Legal description from the Statutes of Alberta 2003, Electoral Divisions Act.
Starting at the intersection of the west Medicine Hat city boundary with the north Medicine Hat city boundary; then 1. generally east and southeast along the city boundary to the northeasterly extension of Carry Drive; 2. southwest along the extension and Carry Drive and its southwesterly extension to the Trans Canada highway; 3. northwest along the Trans Canada highway to the left bank of the South Saskatchewan River; 4. west along the left bank to the west Medicine Hat city boundary; 5. generally north, east and north to the starting point.
Note:

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Medicine Hat[3]
Assembly	Years	Member				Party
1st	1905–1909		William Finlay			Liberal
2nd	1909–1910
	1910		Vacant
	1910–1913		Charles Mitchell			Liberal
3rd	1913–1917		Nelson Spencer			Conservative
4th	1917–1921
5th	1921		William Johnston	Dominion Labor		Perren Baker	United Farmers
	1921					Vacant
	1921–1925					Perren Baker	United Farmers
	1925		Vacant
	1925–1926		Charles Pingle	Liberal
6th	1926–1928
	1928		Vacant
	1928–1930		Hector Lang			Liberal
7th	1930–1935
8th	1935–1940		John Robinson			Social Credit
9th	1940–1944
10th	1944–1948
11th	1948–1952
12th	1952–1953
	1953		Vacant
	1953–1955		Elizabeth Robinson			Social Credit
13th	1955–1959
14th	1959–1960
	1960–1961		Vacant
	1961–1963		Harry Leinweber			Social Credit
15th	1963–1967
16th	1967–1971
See Medicine Hat-Redcliff 1971-1979
19th	1979–1982		Jim Horsman			Progressive Conservative
20th	1982–1986
21st	1986–1989
22nd	1989–1993
23rd	1993–1997		Rob Renner
24th	1997–2001
25th	2001–2004
26th	2004–2008
27th	2008–present

Electoral history

The provincial electoral district of Medicine Hat has a long history that goes back to 1888 under the old Medicine Hat, Northwest Territories electoral district. The district was carried over when the province of Alberta was created in 1905.

The first election in 1905 saw former Northwest Territories MLA William Finlay win the district in a hotly contested race. Finlay was re-elected in 1909 and resigned in 1910 so cabinet minister Charles Mitchell could have a seat in the Legislature.

Mitchell only held the district for one term before being defeated by Conservative Nelson Spencer in the 1913 election. Spencer's win was considered an upset. Spencer was re-elected by acclamation under Chapter 38 of the Elections Act in 1917 for serving in the Canadian Army during World War I. He retired from the Legislature in 1921 and moved to British Columbia.

The Liberal government passed a law in 1921 that turned Medicine Hat into a two member constituency during the 5th Legislature. The two seats were won by United Farmers candidate Peren Baker who headed the polls and William Johnston a Dominion Labor candidate who finished second. Baker was confirmed to a cabinet post by acclamation in a ministerial by-election on December 9, 1921.

Johnson died in 1925 vacating his seat. The by-election saw former Speaker of the Legislature Charles Pingle win the district for the Liberal party. The district was once again mandated to return a single member in 1926. Pingle stood for re-election while Baker moved to the Cypress electoral district. This was also the first election conducted with single transferable vote.

Pingle died in 1928 forcing another by-election. Liberal candidate Hector Lang retained the seat for the party. He was re-elected in 1930 and defeated running for a third term in 1935 by Social Credit candidate John Robinson.

Robinson held the district for four terms being re-elected in 1940, 1944, 1948 and 1952. He was appointed Minister of Industries and Labour by Premier Ernest Manning in 1948 and held that post until his death in 1953.

The by-election in 1953 saw John Robinson's wife Elizabeth Robinson retain the seat for Social Credit. She held the district for three terms before dying in 1961.

The last by-election held in the district in 1961 saw Harry Leinweber become the third member of Social Credit to win the district. He was re-elected in 1963 and 1967 before retiring in 1971.

Medicine Hat was redistributed to include the town of Redcliff in 1971 boundary redistribution. The new riding was called Medicine Hat-Redcliff. The electoral district of Medicine Hat was re-created in 1979 containing just the city of Medicine Hat.

The first election in the new Medicine Hat district saw former Medicine Hat-Redcliff incumbent Jim Horsman won the district in a landslide winning a 10,000 vote margin over the second place candidate. He would improve on that victory winning his biggest margin in the 1982 general election finishing almost 12,000 votes ahead of second place. He was also re-elected in 1986 and 1989 before retiring in 1993.

The current member Rob Renner was elected as a Progressive Conservative candidate for the first time in the 1993 general election. He was re-elected in 1997, 2001, 2004 and 2008.

Election results 1905-1971

1905 general election

1905 Alberta general election results[4]			Turnout N/A		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Liberal	William Finlay	575	51.70%	*
	Conservative	Francis Sissons	537	48.30%	*
Total			1,112	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			Unknown
Unknown Eligible Electors
	Liberal pickup new district				Swing N/A

1909 general election

1909 Alberta general election results[5]			Turnout N/A		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Liberal	William Finlay	1,249	71.66%	19.96%
	Conservative	Francis Sissons	494	28.34%	-19.96%
Total			1,743	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			Unknown
Unknown Eligible Electors
	Liberal hold				Swing 19.96%

1910 by-election

June 29, 1910 by-election results[6]			Turnout N/A		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Liberal	Charles Mitchell	1,134	62.86%	-8.80%	*
	Conservative	Walter Huckvale	670	37.14%	8.80%	*
Total			1,804	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			Unknown
Unknown Eligible Electors
	Liberal hold				Swing -8.80%

1913 general election

1913 Alberta general election results[7]			Turnout N/A		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Conservative	Nelson Spenser	1,843	50.28%	13.14%	*
	Liberal	Charles Mitchell	1,823	49.72%	-13.14%
Total			3,666	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			Unknown
Unknown Eligible Electors
	Conservative pickup from Liberal				Swing 13.14%

1917 general election

1917 Alberta general election results[8]
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Nelson Spenser	Acclaimed
Unknown Eligible Electors
	Conservative hold

1921 general election

1921 Alberta general election results[9]			Turnout N/A		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	United Farmers	Perren Baker	4,165	34.54%	*
	Dominion Labor	William Johnston	3,602	29.87%	*
	Liberal	Oliver Boyd	2,278	18.89%	*
	Liberal	Henry Foster	2,013	16.70%	*
Total			12,058	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			Unknown
Unknown Eligible Electors
	United Farmers pickup from Conservative				Swing N/A
	Dominion Labor pickup new seat

Electors had the option of voting for up to two candidates.

1921 by-election results

December 9, 1921 by-election results[6]
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes
	United Farmers	Perren Baker	Acclaimed
Unknown Eligible Electors
	United Farmers hold

Due to laws existing in the Legislative Assembly Act a series of ministerial by-elections were needed to confirm members appointed to the Greenfield government. Seven by-elections in total were called for an election day of December 9, 1921. This was set for one week after the 1921 Canadian federal election.^[10]

The by-election writ was dropped on November 16, 1921, United Farmers incumbent Perren Baker who had been appointed as Minister of Education ran unopposed and was acclaimed at the nomination deadline held on December 2, 1921. The timing of the by-elections was deliberately chosen to coincide with the federal election to ensure that opposition candidates would be unlikely to oppose the cabinet ministers.^[10]

1925 by-election

September 29, 1925 by-election results[11][12]				Turnout 74.56%				1st Count Swing
Affiliation			Candidate	1st	%	2nd	%	Party	Personal
		Liberal	Charles Pingle	1,640	41.48%	1,914	55.17%	5.89%	*
		Farmer-Labor	William McCombs	1,302	32.94%	1,555	44.83%	-31.47%1	*
		Conservative	Joseph Hendrick	1,011	25.58%			*
Total				3,953	100%	3,469	100%
Exhausted Ballots				0		484
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined				Unknown
5,302 eligible electors
		Liberal pickup from Dominion Labor					1st Count Swing 18.68%

1. William McCombs was a candidate jointly nominated by the United Farmers of Alberta and the Dominion Labor Party. The party percent change is reflected from the combined party percentages in the 1921 general election.

1926 general election

1926 Alberta general election results[13]			Turnout 72.33%				1st Count Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	1st	%	2nd	%	Party	Personal
	Liberal	Charles Pingle	1,574	44.08%	1,701	53.36%	2.60%
	Conservative	Joseph Hendrick	1,279	35.82%	1,487	46.64%	9.75%
	Dominion Labor	James Hole	718	20.11%			-12.83%	*
Total			3,571	100%	3,188	100%
Exhausted Ballots			0		383
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			264
5,302 eligible electors
	Liberal hold					1st Count Swing 6.18%

1928 by-election

May 1, 1928 by-election results[14]			Turnout 66.05%						1st Count Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	1st	%	2nd	3rd	4th	%	Party	Personal
	Liberal	Hector Lang	1,355	39.90%	1,405	1,603	1,604	59.12%	-4.18%	*
	Conservative	Joseph Hendrick	941	27.71%	986	1,106	1,109	40.88%	-8.11%
	Dominion Labor	William McCombs	810	23.85%	844				3.74%	*
	Independent	B.J. Bott	290	8.54%					*
Total			3,396	100%	3,235	2,709	2,713	100%
Exhausted Ballots			0		161	529	-4
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			106
5,302 eligible electors
	Liberal hold							1st Count Swing -6.15%

1930 general election

1930 Alberta general election results[15]			Turnout 74.09%				1st Count Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	1st	%	2nd	%	Party	Personal
	Liberal	Hector Lang	1,774	45.97%	2,046	59.98%	6.07%
	Conservative	C.S. Blanchard	1,150	29.80%	1,365	40.02%	-2.09%	*
	Independent	Isaac Bullivant	935	24.23%			*
Total			3,859	100%	3,411	100%
Exhausted Ballots			0		448
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			336
5,662 eligible electors
	Liberal hold					1st Count Swing 4.08%

1935 general election

1935 Alberta general election results[16]			Turnout 83.26%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Social Credit	John Robinson	3,236	62.95%	*
	Liberal	Hector Lang	1,252	24.35%	-13.14%
	Conservative	Isaac Bullivant	653	12.70%	-17.10%	-11.53%
Total			5,141	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			117
6,315 Eligible Electors
	Social Credit pickup from Liberal				Swing 38.05%

1940 general election

1940 Alberta general election results[17]			Turnout 86.07%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Social Credit	John Robinson	2,943	50.69%	-12.26%
	Independent	W.C. Yuill	2,863	49.31%	*
Total			5,806	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			169
6,942 Eligible Electors
	Social Credit hold				Swing -30.79%

1944 general election

1944 Alberta general election results[18]			Turnout 71.26%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Social Credit	John Robinson	2,977	55.48%	4.79%
	Independent	John Bell	1,457	27.15%	*
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Russell Price	696	12.97%	*
	Labor Progressive	Edwin Home	236	4.40%	*
Total			5,366	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			224
7,844 Eligible Electors
	Social Credit hold				Swing 13.46%

1948 general election

1948 Alberta general election results[19]			Turnout 64.04%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Social Credit	John Robinson	3,835	65.29%	9.81%
	Liberal	David Broadfoot	1,043	17.76%	*
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Ian Arrol	996	16.95%	3.98%	*
Total			5,874	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			596
10,103 Eligible Electors
	Social Credit hold				Swing 13.79%

1952 general election

1952 Alberta general election results[20]			Turnout 58.85%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Social Credit	John Robinson	4,727	74.70%	9.41%
	Liberal	James Wyatt	1,601	25.30%	7.54%	*
Total			6,328	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			343
11,336 Eligible Electors
	Social Credit hold				Swing 8.48%

1953 by-election

December 21, 1953 by-election results[6]			Turnout 28.44%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Social Credit	Elizabeth Robinson	2,462	76.89%	2.19%	*
	Co-operative Commonwealth	E.W. Horne	740	23.11%	*
Total			3,202	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			200
11,964 Eligible Electors[21]
	Social Credit hold				Swing 12.65%

1955 general election

1955 Alberta general election results[22]			Turnout 61.70%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Social Credit	Elizabeth Robinson	5,066	67.25%	-9.64%
	Liberal	James McLane	1,862	21.72%	*
	Co-operative Commonwealth	K.L. Brucker	605	8.03%	-15.08%	*
Total			7,533	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			436
12,915 Eligible Electors
	Social Credit hold				Swing -15.68%

1959 general election

1959 Alberta general election results[23]			Turnout 61.90%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Social Credit	Elizabeth Robinson	5,604	66.12%	-1.13%
	Progressive Conservative	John Cocks	1,780	21.00%	*
	Liberal	Norma DeMan	597	7.04%	-14.68%	*
	Co-operative Commonwealth	John Rogers	495	5.84%	-2.19%	*
Total			8,476	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			163
13,957 Eligible Electors
	Social Credit hold				Swing -11.07%

1961 by-election

January 19, 1961 by-election results[24]			Turnout 63.34%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Social Credit	Harry Leinweber	4,573	48.78%	-17.34%	*
	Liberal	David Broadfoot	2,475	26.40%	19.36%	*
	New Party	Milton Reinhardt	1,326	14.15%	8.31%	*
	Progressive Conservative	John Cocks	1,000	10.67%	-10.33%
Total			9,374	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			Unknown
14,800 Eligible Electors
	Social Credit hold				Swing -18.35%

1963 general election

1963 Alberta general election results[25]			Turnout 60.11%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Social Credit	Harry Leinweber	4,954	51.93%	3.15%
	Liberal	Helen Gibson	2,259	23.68%	-2.72%	*
	Progressive Conservative	Kenneth Biddell	1,485	15.57%	4.90%	*
	NDP	Milton Reinhardt	841	8.82%	-1.85%
Total			9,539	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			31
15,921 Eligible Electors
	Social Credit hold				Swing 2.94%

1967 general election

1967 Alberta general election results[26]			Turnout 68.21%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Social Credit	Harry Leinweber	4,390	40.14%	-11.79%
	Progressive Conservative	Jim Horsman	2,701	24.70%	9.13%	*
	Liberal	Roy Weidermann	2,025	18.52%	-5.16%	*
	NDP	Ted Grimm	1,819	16.64%	7.82%	*
Total			10,935	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			50
16,104 Eligible Electors
	Social Credit hold				Swing -10.46%

Election results 1979-present

1979 general election

1979 Alberta general election results[27]			Turnout 58.89%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Progressive Conservative	Jim Horsman	10,107	72.85%	*
	Social Credit	Lee Anderson	1,904	13.72%	*
	NDP	Frances Ost	1,134	8.17%	*
	Liberal	Roy Weidermann	729	5.26%	*
Total			13,874	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			50
23,646 Eligible Electors
	Progressive Conservative pickup new district				Swing N/A

1982 general election

1982 Alberta general election results[28]			Turnout 66.47%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Progressive Conservative	Jim Horsman	14,654	81.37%	8.52%
	NDP	Clarence Smith	2,072	11.51%	3.34%	*
	Western Canada Concept	David Lees	996	5.53%	*
	Independent	Frank Cottingham	286	1.59%	*
Total			18,008	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			38
27,149 Eligible Electors
	Progressive Conservative hold				Swing 5.93%

1986 general election

1986 Alberta general election results[29]			Turnout 41.66%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Progressive Conservative	Jim Horsman	7,717	65.88%	-15.49%
	Liberal	David Carter	2,624	22.40%	*
	NDP	Stan Chmelyk	1,373	11.72%	0.21%	*
Total			11,714	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			29
28,185 Eligible Electors
	Progressive Conservative hold				Swing -18.95%

1989 general election

1989 Alberta general election results[30]			Turnout 53.45%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Progressive Conservative	Jim Horsman	6,465	41.00%	-24.88%
	Liberal	Garth Vallely	5,213	33.07%	10.67%	*
	NDP	Wally Regehr	4,088	25.93%	14.21%	*
Total			15,766	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			49
29,589 Eligible Electors
	Progressive Conservative hold				Swing -17.78%

1993 general election

1993 Alberta general election results[31]			Turnout 56.05%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Progressive Conservative	Rob Renner	4,941	39.01%	-1.99%	*
	Liberal	Garth Vallely	4,790	37.82%	4.75%
	NDP	Bob Wanner	2,366	18.68%	-7.25%	*
	Social Credit	Marcel Guay	568	4.49%	*
Total			12,665	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			38
22,665 Eligible Electors
	Progressive Conservative hold				Swing -3.37%

1997 general election

1997 Alberta general election results[32]			Turnout 47.63%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Progressive Conservative	Rob Renner	5,853	51.67%	12.66%
	Liberal	Trevor Butts	3,232	28.53%	9.29%
	Social Credit	Dale Glasier	1,177	10.39%	5.90%	*
	NDP	George Peterson	1,065	9.41%	-9.27%	*
Total			11,327	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			42
23,868 Eligible Electors
	Progressive Conservative hold				Swing 10.98%

2001 general election

2001 Alberta general election results[33]			Turnout 52.00%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Progressive Conservative	Rob Renner	8,109	62.08%	10.41%
	Liberal	Karen Charlton	4,166	31.89%	3.36%
	NDP	Luke Lacasse	787	6.03%	-3.38%	*
Total			13,062	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			81
25,275 Eligible Electors
	Progressive Conservative hold				Swing 6.89%

2004 general election

2004 Alberta general election results[34]			Turnout 41.28%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Progressive Conservative	Rob Renner	5,261	49.96%	-12.12%
	Liberal	Karen Charlton	3,419	32.47%	0.58%
	Alberta Alliance	Scott Cowan	1,060	10.07%	*
	NDP	Diana Arnott	547	5.20%	0.83%	*
	Social Credit	Jonathan Lorentzen	242	2.30%	*
Total			10,529	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			98
25,746 Eligible Electors
	Progressive Conservative hold				Swing -6.35%

2004 Senate nominee election district results

2004 Senate nominee election results: Medicine Hat[35]					Turnout 41.25%
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	% Votes	% Ballots	Rank
	Progressive Conservative	Betty Unger	3,427	15.30%	43.92%	2
	Progressive Conservative	Bert Brown	3,420	15.27%	43.84%	1
	Progressive Conservative	Cliff Breitkreuz	2,256	10.07%	28.92%	3
	Progressive Conservative	David Usherwood	2,245	10.02%	28.78%	6
	Independent	Link Byfield	2,230	9.96%	28.58%	4
	Progressive Conservative	Jim Silye	2,215	9.89%	28.39%	5
	Alberta Alliance	Michael Roth	1,972	8.80%	25.28%	7
	Alberta Alliance	Vance Gough	1,780	7.95%	22.82%	8
	Alberta Alliance	Gary Horan	1,607	7.17%	20.60%	10
	Independent	Tom Sindlinger	1,249	5.57%	16.01%	9
Total Votes			22,401	100%
Total Ballots			7,802	2.87 Votes Per Ballot
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			2,819

Voters had the option of selecting 4 Candidates on the Ballot

2008 general election

2008 Alberta general election results[36]			Turnout 31.69%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Progressive Conservative	Rob Renner	5,388	51.18%	1.22%
	Liberal	Karen Charlton	3,625	34.43%	1.96%
	Wildrose Alliance	Clint Rabb	746	7.08%	-2.99%	*
	NDP	Diana Arnott	484	4.60%	-0.60%
	Green	Karen Kraus	285	2.71%	*
Total			10,528	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			61
33,413 Eligible Electors
	Progressive Conservative hold				Swing 1.59%

Plebiscite results

1948 Electrification Plebiscite

District results from the first province wide plebiscite on electricity regulation.

Option A	Option B
Are you in favour of the generation and distribution of electricity being continued by the Power Companies?	Are you in favour of the generation and distribution of electricity being made a publicly owned utility administered by the Alberta Government Power Commission?
5,168     81.03%	1,214     18.97%
Province wide result: Option A passed.

1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Medicine Hat[37]
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	2,728	50.04%
	No	2,724	49.96%
Total Votes		5,452	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined		98
12,586 Eligible Electors, Turnout 44.10%

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.^[38]

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.^[37]

Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Medicine Hat just barely voted in favour of the proposal with the difference between Yes and No being four votes. Voter turnout in the district was slightly below the province wide average of 46%.^[37]

Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957.^[37] The Social Credit government in power at the time did not considered the results binding.^[39] However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.^[40]

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.^[41]

2004 Student Vote

Participating Schools[42]
Crescent Heights High School
Crestwood Elementary School
McCoy High School
Medicine Hat High School
River Heights Elementary
Southview School

On November 19, 2004 a Student Vote was conducted at participating Alberta schools to parallel the 2004 Alberta general election results. The vote was designed to educate students and simulate the electoral process for persons who have not yet reached the legal majority. The vote was conducted in 80 of the 83 provincial electoral districts with students voting for actual election candidates. Schools with a large student body that reside in another electoral district had the option to vote for candidates outside of the electoral district then where they were physically located.

2004 Alberta Student Vote results[43]
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive Conservative	Rob Renner	586	42.71%
	Liberal	Karen Charlton	361	26.31%
	NDP	Diana Arnott	209	15.23%
	Alberta Alliance	Scott Cowan	109	7.94%
	Social Credit	Jonathan Lorentzen	107	7.81%
Total			1,372	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			25

References

1. ^ "The Alberta Act". Government of Canada. July 20, 1905. pp. 7–8. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-7109.06-e.html. 
2. ^ "E‑4.1". Statutes of the Province of Alberta. Government of Alberta. 2003. p. 60. http://www.qp.alberta.ca/574.cfm?page=E04P1.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=0779738748. 
3. ^ "Members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 1905-2006". Legislative Assembly of Alberta. http://www.assembly.ab.ca/legislaturecentennial/pdf/membersBooklet.pdf. Retrieved February 27, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1905 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1905&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 4, 2010. 
5. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1909 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1909&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 4, 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} "Past by-elections 1905-1973". Elections Alberta. http://www.electionsalberta.ab.ca/Public%20Website/742.htm#1905-1973. Retrieved March 4, 2010. 
7. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1913 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1913&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 4, 2010. 
8. ^ "Peace River Official Results 1917 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1917&Constit=Peace_River. Retrieved March 4, 2010. 
9. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1921 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1921&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 4, 2010. 
10. ^ ^{a b} "Provincial By-elections On December 9". Vol XIV No. 285 (The Lethbridge Daily Herald): p. 9. November 16, 1921. 
11. ^ "Capt. Pingle is named winner by 396 majority". The Lethbridge Daily Herald. October 7, 1925. p. 5. 
12. ^ "Pingle Majority 359". The Lethbridge Daily Herald. October 13, 1925. p. 7. 
13. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1926 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1926&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 4, 2010. 
14. ^ "Second Counts All Served to Increase Majority For Lang". Lethbridge Daily Herald. May 3, 1928. p. 2. 
15. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1930 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1930&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
16. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1935 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1935&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
17. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1940&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
18. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1944 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1944&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
19. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1948 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1948&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
20. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1952 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1952&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
21. ^ "Mrs. J.L. Robinson Wins Medicine Hat for Social Credit". The Lethbridge Daily Herald. December 22, 1953. pp. 1–2. 
22. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1955 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1955&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
23. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1959 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1959&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
24. ^ "Gas City Seat To Socreds in By-election". The Lethbridge Daily Herald. January 20, 1961. p. 2. 
25. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1963 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1963&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
26. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1967 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1967&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
27. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1979 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1979&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
28. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1982 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1982&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
29. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1986 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1986&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
30. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1989 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1989&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
31. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1993 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1993&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
32. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 1997 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1997&Constit=Medicine_Hat. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
33. ^ "Medicine Hat Official Results 2001 Alberta general election". Elections Alberta. http://www.electionsalberta.ab.ca/Public%20Website/files/2001StatmentOfResults/2001_SOR_65.pdf. Retrieved March 3, 2010. 
34. ^ "Medicine Hat Statement of Official Results 2004 Alberta general election". Elections Alberta. http://www.elections.ab.ca/Public%20Website/files/Statements/68.pdf. Retrieved March 6, 2010. 
35. ^ "Senate Nominee Election 2004 Tabulation of Official Results". Elections Alberta. http://www.elections.ab.ca/Public%20Website/files/Reports/SN_snetabulation.pdf. Retrieved March 1, 2010. 
36. ^ The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-seventh Legislative Assembly. Elections Alberta. July 28, 2008. pp. 492–495. 
37. ^ ^{a b c d} Alberta Gazette. 53 (December 31 ed.). Government of Alberta. 1957. pp. 2,247-2,249. 
38. ^ "Albertans Vote 2 to 1 For More Liquor Outlets". Vol L No 273 (The Lethbridge Herald): pp. 1–2. October 31, 1957. 
39. ^ "No Sudden Change In Alberta Drinking Habits Is Seen". Vol L No 267 (The Lethbridge Herald): p. 1. October 24, 1957. 
40. ^ "Entirely New Act On Liquor". Vol LI No 72 (The Lethbridge Herald): p. 1. March 5, 1958. 
41. ^ "Bill 81". Alberta Bills 12th Legislature 1st Session. Government of Alberta. 1958. p. 40. 
42. ^ "School by School results". Student Vote Canada. http://www.studentvote.ca/admin/election/Schools.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-27. ^{[dead link]}
43. ^ "Riding by Riding Results - the Candidates". Student Vote Canada. http://www.studentvote.ca/admin/election/Candidate.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-19. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Website of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta