Lethbridge was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1909, and again from 1921 to 1971.
History
The riding has existed twice, from 1905 to 1909, and again from 1921 to 1971. The Lethbridge electoral district was founded as one of the original 25 electoral districts contested in the 1905 Alberta general election after Alberta became a province in September 1905. The electoral district was a continuation of the Lethbridge electoral district that had elected a single member to the Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories from 1891 to 1905.
In 1905, the Lethbridge electoral district covered a large patch of southern Alberta. It was broken into Lethbridge District and Lethbridge City in 1909. After Lethbridge District was broken up into Taber and Little Bow in 1913, Lethbridge City was all that remained, using the Lethbridge name; in 1921 the Lethbridge district was reformed after City was dropped from the name.
From 1924 to 1956, the district used instant-runoff voting to elect its MLA.
The Lethbridge electoral district was abolished in the 1971 electoral district re-distribution, and the territory was formed into Lethbridge-East and Lethbridge-West electoral districts.
The riding was named after the Southern Alberta city of Lethbridge.
Representation
Liberal Leverett George DeVeber was elected as the first representative for the Lethbridge electoral district in 1905, DeVeber had previously held the Lethbridge seat in the Northwest Territories Legislature from 1898 to 1905. DeVeber's time as the representative was short as he was appointed to the Senate on March 8, 1906.
He was followed by William Charles Simmons and Donald McNabb.
Election results
1905
1906 by-election
In 1908, Simmons resigned. A by-election was scheduled for January 8, 1909. Labour activist Donald McNabb was the only candidate nominated so he won the seat by acclamation.
!%
|-
|(a) Prohibition - Meaning thereby a continuance and development of present Liquor Legislation; that is, meaning the Abolition of the Sale of all Liquors excepting for strictly Medicinal Sacramental, Manufacturing and Scientific Purposes.
|1,342
|%
|-
|(b) Licensed Sale of Beer - Meaning thereby, the Sale of Beer in Licensed Hotels and other Premises, as provided in the proposed Temperance Act.
|56
|%
|-
|(c) Government Sale of Beer - Meaning thereby, the Sale of Beer by or through Government Vendors for consumption in Private Residences under Government Control and Regulations - other Liquors to be sold through Doctor's Prescription for Medicinal Purposes.
|53
|%
|-
|(d) Government Sale of All Liquors - Meaning thereby, the Sale of all Liquors by or through Government Vendors. Beer to be consumed on Licensed Premises and in Private Residences. Wines and Spirits to be purchased in limited quantities under permit issued by the government, under Government Control and Regulations.
|3,157
|%
|-
|align=right|Total
|4,914
|100%
|-
|align=right|Spoiled ballots
|colspan=2|307
|}
1948 electrification plebiscite
District results from the first province wide plebiscite on electricity regulation.
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse"
|- bgcolor="darkgray"
!|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?
|-
!|4,237 64.90%
!|2,291 35.10%
|-
!colspan="2"|Province wide result: Option A passed.
|}
1957 liquor plebiscite
{| class="wikitable" align=right
|colspan=4 align=center|1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Lethbridge
|-
!colspan=4|Question A: Do you approve additional types of outlets for the<br /> sale of beer, wine and spirituous liquor subject to a local vote?
|-
!colspan=2|Ballot choice
!Votes
!%
|-
|bgcolor=red|
|No
|4,119
|50.66%
|-
|bgcolor=green|
|Yes
|4,012
|49.34%
|-
|align=right colspan=2|Total votes
|8,131
|100%
|-
|align=right colspan=2|Rejected, spoiled and declined
|colspan=2|66
|-
!colspan=4|15,974 eligible electors, turnout 51.32%
|}
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.
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. 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 Lethbridge were designated Local Option Zones by the Alberta Liquor Control Board and considered effective dry zones, business owners that wanted a licence had to petition for a binding municipal plebiscite in order to be granted a licence.
See also
- List of Alberta provincial electoral districts
- Canadian provincial electoral districts
References
Further reading
External links
- Elections Alberta
- The Legislative Assembly of Alberta