Barrhead (electoral district)

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For other electoral districts, see Barrhead (disambiguation).

Barrhead
Alberta electoral district
Defunct provincial electoral district
LegislatureLegislative Assembly of Alberta
District created1971
District abolished1993
First contested1971
Last contested1989

Barrhead was a provincial electoral district in Alberta mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using first-past-the-post balloting from 1971 to 1993.[1]

History[]

Boundary history[]

Barrhead replaced the district of Pembina in the redistribution that took effect in 1971, centred around the town of Barrhead. In 1979 its southern boundary was extended to the north shore of Lac Ste. Anne, and extended further south again in 1986.

In the redistribution that took effect in 1993, the riding was replaced by Barrhead-Westlock and its southern portion was transferred to Whitecourt-Ste. Anne.

Representation history[]

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Barrhead-Westlock
Assembly Years Member Party
See Pembina 1909–1971
17th 1971–1975 Hugh Horner Progressive
Conservative
18th 1975–1979
19th 1979
1979 Vacant
1979–1982 Ken Kowalski Progressive
Conservative
20th 1982–1986
21st 1986–1989
22nd 1989–1993
See Barrhead-Westlock 1993–2004 and
Whitecourt-Ste. Anne 1993–2019

The first representative for Barrhead was one-term Progressive Conservative MLA for Lac Ste. Anne Hugh Horner, who had captured his seat from the governing Social Credit in 1967. He occupied several posts in Peter Lougheed's cabinet over his career, but retired shortly after winning his fourth term as MLA in 1979.

The resulting by-election was the closest result in the history of the district, with Liberal leader Nick Taylor running for the seat. Progressive Conservative Candidate Ken Kowalski, however, would narrowly retain Barrhead for the government. He also served in cabinet and, when the district was abolished in 1993, went on to serve as MLA for Barrhead-Westlock.

Election results[]

Elections in the 1970s[]

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1971 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Hugh Horner 3,360 59.43% –
Social Credit Simon Tuininga 1,651 29.20% –
New Democratic Herman Burke 643 11.37% –
Total 5,654 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 19 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 7,894 71.86% –
Progressive Conservative pickup new district.
Source(s)
Source: "Barrhead Official Results 1971 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
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1975 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Hugh Horner 3,665 67.74% 8.32%
Social Credit Bill Seatter 919 16.99% -12.21%
New Democratic Arlington Corbett 826 15.27% 3.90%
Total 5,410 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 21 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 8,190 66.31% –
Progressive Conservative hold Swing 10.27%
Source(s)
Source: "Barrhead Official Results 1975 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
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1979 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Hugh Horner 4,629 62.29% -5.45%
Social Credit David Bouyea 1,658 22.31% 5.32%
New Democratic Lionel Udenberg 1,008 13.56% -1.70%
Liberal John V. Murphy 136 1.83% –
Total 7,431 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined N/A – –
Eligible electors / turnout 10,871 68.36% –
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -5.39%
Source(s)
Source: "Barrhead Official Results 1979 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
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  • t
Alberta provincial by-election, November 21, 1979
Following the resignation of Dr. Hugh Horner on October 1, 1979
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Ken Kowalski 2,457 38.74 -23.55
Liberal Nicholas Taylor 2,102 33.14 +31.31
Social Credit David Bouyea 1,067 16.82 -5.49
New Democratic Arlington Corbett 716 11.29 -2.27
Total valid votes 6,342 – –
Rejected, spoiled, and declined – – –
Eligible voters / turnout 11409 55.59 -13.39
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -27.43
Source(s)
Elections Alberta. "By-elections". Retrieved January 22, 2018.

Elections in the 1980s[]

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1982 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Ken Kowalski 5,001 51.44% -10.85%
Liberal Nicholas Taylor 3,331 34.26% 32.43%
Western Canada Concept John Thomas Mitchell 633 6.51% –
New Democratic Harold Wharton 478 4.92% -8.65%
Social Credit Shirley Bassani 240 2.47% -19.84%
Reform Ernie Charman 39 0.40% –
Total 9,722 – –
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 13 – –
Eligible electors / Turnout 12,226 79.63% –
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -11.40%
Source(s)
Source: "Barrhead Official Results 1982 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
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1986 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Ken Kowalski 5,092 57.82% 6.38%
New Democratic Larry E. McConnell 2,303 26.15% 21.24%
Liberal Mary Lou Ehrenholz 637 7.23% -27.03%
Independent Herb Brent 539 6.12% –
Representative Ferne Nutt 235 2.67% –
Total 8,806 – –
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 13 – –
Eligible electors / Turnout 14,491 60.86% –
Progressive Conservative hold Swing 7.25%
Source(s)
Source: "Barrhead Official Results 1986 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  • v
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1989 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Ken Kowalski 5,294 57.51% 6.07%
New Democratic Harold Wharton 1,673 18.17% 13.26%
Liberal Dave Perrin 1,660 18.03% -16.23%
Social Credit J. Harvey Yuill 578 6.28% 3.81%
Total 9,205 – –
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 16 – –
Eligible electors / Turnout 14,426 63.92% –
Progressive Conservative hold Swing 3.83%
Source(s)
Source: "Barrhead Official Results 1989 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Election results for Barrhead". abheritage.ca. Heritage Community Foundation. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2020.

Further reading[]

External links[]

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