Vermilion (provincial electoral district)

Vermilion was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1971.^[1]

Vermilion

Alberta electoral district
Defunct provincial electoral district
Legislature	Legislative Assembly of Alberta
District created	1905
District abolished	1971
First contested	1905
Last contested	1967

History

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Vermilion
Assembly	Years	Member		Party
1st	1905–1906		Matthew McCauley (politician)	Liberal
	1906–1909		James Bismark Holden
2nd	1909–1910		Archibald Campbell
	1910–1913		Arthur Lewis Sifton
3rd	1913–1917
4th	1917–1917
	1917–1921		Arthur W. Ebbett
5th	1921–1926		Richard Gavin Reid	United Farmers
6th	1926–1930
7th	1930–1935
8th	1935–1940		William A. Fallow	Social Credit
9th	1940–1944
10th	1944–1948		William R. Cornish
11th	1948–1952
12th	1952–1955
13th	1955–1959		Russell J. Whitson	Liberal
14th	1959–1963		Ashley Cooper	Social Credit
15th	1963–1967
16th	1967–1971
See Vermilion-Viking electoral district from 1971-1993

Vermilion was one of the original 25 electoral districts contested in the 1905 Alberta general election upon Alberta joining Confederation in September 1905. In the 1970 electoral district re-distribution, the Vermilion electoral district would be abolished and would be reformed as Vermilion-Viking, the boundaries for the new district would be a continuation of the Vermilion boundaries as adjusted prior to the 1963 Alberta general election.

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)

Matthew McCauley was elected as the first member for the Vermilion district, he had previously served as the first Mayor of Edmonton and member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories for the Edmonton electoral district. McCauley's time in the Alberta Legislature was limited to less than a year when he resigned his seat in 1906 after his appointment to be Warden of the Edmonton Penitentiary, the first of its kind in Alberta.

Election results

1905 general election

The Returning Officer for the 1905 election was Thomas J. Cunningham.^[2]

v t e 1905 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Matthew McCauley	673	73.07%	–
	Conservative	Frank Fane	248	26.93%	–
Total			921	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			921	N/A	–
	Liberal pickup new district.
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1905 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1906 by-election

v t e Alberta provincial by-election, July 16, 1906 Upon Matthew McCauley's appointment as warden of Edmonton Penitentiary
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Bismark Holden	Acclaimed	–	–
Total			N/A	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		–
Source(s) "By-elections". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 26, 2020.

1909 general election

v t e 1909 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Archibald Campbell	919	66.55%	-6.53%
	Conservative	Rev. Albert Richard Aldridge	462	33.45%	6.53%
Total			1,381	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		-6.53%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1909 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1910 by-election

v t e Alberta provincial by-election, June 29, 1910 Upon Archibald Campbell's resignation to provide a seat for the new Premier on June 8, 1910
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Lewis Sifton	1,018	58.91%	–
	Conservative	J. George Clark	710	41.09%	–
Total			1,728	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		N/A
Source(s) "Past By-Election results". Elections Alberta. Retrieved June 12, 2020. Mardon, p. 129

1913 general election

v t e 1913 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Lewis Sifton	772	47.68%	-18.86%
	Conservative	J. George Clark	571	35.27%	1.81%
	Independent	Gregory Krikevsky	276	17.05%	–
Total			1,619	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		-10.34%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1913 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1917 general election

v t e 1917 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Lewis Sifton	2,063	63.03%	15.35%
	Conservative	John B. Burch	1,210	36.97%	1.70%
Total			3,273	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		6.82%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1917 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1917 by-election

v t e Alberta provincial by-election, November 19, 1917 Upon the resignation of Arthur Lewis Sifton on October 12, 1917
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur W. Ebbett	Acclaimed	–	–
Total			N/A	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		N/A
Source(s) "Past By-Election results". Elections Alberta. Retrieved June 12, 2020.

1921 general election

v t e 1921 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Farmers	Richard Gavin Reid	2,955	75.89%	–
	Liberal	Arthur W. Ebbett	939	24.11%	-38.92%
Total			3,894	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	United Farmers gain from Liberal		Swing		12.86%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1921 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1921 by-election

v t e Alberta provincial by-election, December 9, 1921 Ministerial by-election upon Richard Gavin Reid being appointed to Cabinet
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Farmers	Richard Gavin Reid	Acclaimed	–	–
Total			N/A	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	United Farmers hold		Swing		N/A
Source(s) "Past By-Election results". Elections Alberta. Retrieved June 12, 2020.

1926 general election

v t e 1926 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Farmers	Richard Gavin Reid	1,981	64.63%	-11.25%
	Conservative	W. J. MacNab	592	19.31%	–
	Liberal	Arthur W. Ebbett	492	16.05%	-8.06%
Total			3,065	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			232	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			4,886	67.48%	–
	United Farmers hold		Swing		-3.23%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1926 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1930 general election

v t e 1930 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Farmers	Richard Gavin Reid	2,551	75.79%	11.15%
	Liberal	Robert B. Hall	815	24.21%	8.16%
Total			3,366	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			139	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			5,624	62.32%	-5.16%
	United Farmers hold		Swing		3.13%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1930 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1935 general election

v t e 1935 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes 1st count	%	Votes final count	±%
	Social Credit	William A. Fallow	2,452	44.81%	2,664	–
	Liberal	Arthur P. Hunter	1,062	19.41%	1,437	-4.80%
	United Farmers	Richard Gavin Reid	876	16.01%	–	-59.78%
	Communist	William Halina	838	15.31%	–	–
	Conservative	Albert E. Williams	244	4.46%	–	–
Total			5,472	–	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			172	–	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,816	82.81%	20.48%	–
	Social Credit gain from United Farmers		Swing		-13.09%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1935 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Mardon 130 Instant-runoff voting requires a candidate to receive a plurality (greater than 50%) of the votes. As no candidate received a plurality of votes, the bottom candidate was eliminated and their 2nd place votes were applied to both other candidates until one received a plurality.

1940 general election

v t e 1940 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes 1st count	%	Votes final count	±%
	Social Credit	William A. Fallow	2,203	44.47%	2,506	-0.34%
	Independent	S. C. Heckbert	1,815	36.64%	2,148	–
	Co-operative Commonwealth	J. T. McDuffe	936	18.89%	–	–
Total			4,954	–	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			179	–	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,721	76.37%	-6.43%	–
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-8.78%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Instant-runoff voting requires a candidate to receive a plurality (greater than 50%) of the votes. As no candidate received a plurality of votes, the bottom candidate was eliminated and their 2nd place votes were applied to both other candidates until one received a plurality.

1944 general election

v t e 1944 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	William R. Cornish	2,239	52.94%	8.47%
	Labor–Progressive	William M. Teresio	999	23.62%	–
	Co-operative Commonwealth	L. E. Larcombe	991	23.43%	4.54%
Total			4,229	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			40	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,260	68.19%	-8.18%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		10.74%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1944 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1948 general election

v t e 1948 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes 1st count	%	Votes final count	±%
	Social Credit	William R. Cornish	1,999	46.10%	2,196	-6.84%
	Liberal	William H. Chorney	1,179	27.19%	1,323	–
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Roy William Hay	1,158	26.71%	3.27%	–
Total			4,336	–	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			245	–	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,372	71.89%	3.70%	–
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-5.20%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1948 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Instant-runoff voting requires a candidate to receive a plurality (greater than 50%) of the votes. As no candidate received a plurality of votes, the bottom candidate was eliminated and their 2nd place votes were applied to both other candidates until one received a plurality.

1952 general election

v t e 1952 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes 1st count	%	Votes final count	±%
	Social Credit	William R. Cornish	1,955	48.70%	2,058	2.60%
	Liberal	George Kravetz	835	20.80%	983	-6.39%
	Farmer	John P. Hocaluk	655	16.32%	713	–
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Edwin Barber	569	14.18%	–	-12.53%
Total			4,014	–	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			249	–	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,432	66.28%	-5.61%	–
	Social Credit hold		Swing		4.50%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1952 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Instant-runoff voting requires a candidate to receive a plurality (greater than 50%) of the votes. As no candidate received a plurality of votes, the bottom candidate was eliminated and their 2nd place votes were applied to both other candidates until one received a plurality.

1955 general election

v t e 1955 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes 1st count	%	Votes final count	±%
	Liberal	Russell J. Whitson	1,728	36.48%	2,131	15.68%
	Social Credit	Ashley Cooper	2,018	42.60%	2,111	-6.10%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	M. Meronyk	684	14.44%	–	0.26%
	Labor–Progressive	John P. Hocaluk	307	6.48%	–	–
Total			4,737	–	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			310	–	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,692	75.42%	9.14%	–
	Liberal gain from Social Credit		Swing		-10.89%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1955 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Instant-runoff voting requires a candidate to receive a plurality (greater than 50%) of the votes. As no candidate received a plurality of votes, the bottom candidate was eliminated and their 2nd place votes were applied to both other candidates until one received a plurality.

1959 general election

v t e 1959 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Ashley Cooper	2,204	49.48%	6.88%
	Liberal	Russell J. Whitson	1,224	27.48%	-9.00%
	Progressive Conservative	D. J. Frunchak	799	17.94%	–
	Labor–Progressive	John P. Hocaluk	227	5.10%	-1.38%
Total			4,454	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			12	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,162	72.48%	-2.94%
	Social Credit gain from Liberal		Swing		7.94%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1959 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1963 general election

v t e 1963 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Ashley Cooper	2,964	68.20%	18.72%
	Liberal	Arthur W. Roland	837	19.26%	-8.22%
	New Democratic	Edward Thompson	545	12.54%	–
Total			4,346	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			8	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,605	65.92%	-6.56%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		13.47%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1963 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1967 general election

v t e 1967 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Ashley Cooper	2,545	58.03%	-10.18%
	Progressive Conservative	Hilda Wilson	1,199	27.34%	–
	New Democratic	Harry E. Yaremchuk	642	14.64%	2.10%
Total			4,386	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			17	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,398	68.82%	2.90%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-9.13%
Source(s) Source: "Vermilion Official Results 1967 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

Plebiscite results

1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Vermilion^[3]
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	1,258	53.92%
	No	1,075	46.08%
Total Votes		2,333	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined		15
5,758 Eligible Electors, Turnout 40.79%

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.^[4]

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.^[3]

Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Vermilion voted in favour of the proposal with a slight majority. Voter turnout in the district was very low, falling well under the province-wide average of 46%.^[3]

Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957.^[3] The Social Credit government in power at the time did not considered the results binding.^[5] However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.^[6]

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.^[7]

See also

• List of Alberta provincial electoral districts
• Vermilion, Alberta, a town in central Alberta

References

1. "Election results for Vermilion". abheritage.ca. Wayback Machine: Heritage Community Foundation. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
2. "Territories Elections Ordinance; Province of Alberta". Vol VI No. 12. The Rocky Mountain Echo. October 30, 1905. p. 4.
3. Alberta Gazette. Vol. 53 (December 31 ed.). Government of Alberta. 1957. pp. 2, 247–2, 249.
4. "Albertans Vote 2 to 1 For More Liquor Outlets". Vol L No 273. The Lethbridge Herald. October 31, 1957. pp. 1–2.
5. "No Sudden Change In Alberta Drinking Habits Is Seen". Vol L No 267. The Lethbridge Herald. October 24, 1957. p. 1.
6. "Entirely New Act On Liquor". Vol LI No 72. The Lethbridge Herald. March 5, 1958. p. 1.
7. "Bill 81". Alberta Bills 12th Legislature 1st Session. Government of Alberta. 1958. p. 40.

Further reading

• Office of the Chief Electoral Officer; Legislative Assembly Office (2006). A Century of Democracy: Elections of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1905-2005. The Centennial Series. Edmonton, AB: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. ISBN 0-9689217-8-7. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
• Mardon, Ernest; Mardon, Austin (1993). Alberta Election Results 1882–1992. Edmonton: Documentary Heritage Society of Alberta.

External links

• Elections Alberta
• The Legislative Assembly of Alberta

53°24′N 110°48′W / 53.4°N 110.8°W / 53.4; -110.8