Willingdon (electoral district)

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Willingdon
Alberta electoral district
Defunct provincial electoral district
LegislatureLegislative Assembly of Alberta
District created1940
District abolished1967
First contested1940
Last contested1963

Willingdon was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1940 to 1963.[1]

History[]

Willingdon was created in 1940 when Victoria and Whitford were split between this district and Redwater and Vegreville

The riding expanded south in 1963 when Vegreville merged with Bruce, to form Vegreville-Bruce. Due to the expanded boundaries the riding name was changed to Willingdon-Two Hills.

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)[]

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Willingdon
Assembly Years Member Party
See Victoria electoral district from 1905-1940
and Whitford electoral district from 1913-1940
9th  1940–1944     William Tomyn Social Credit
10th  1944–1948
11th  1948–1952
12th  1952–1955     Nick W. Dushenski Co-operative Commonwealth
13th  1955–1959
14th  1959–1963     Nicholas A. Melnyk Social Credit
See Willingdon-Two Hills electoral district from 1963-1971

Election results[]

1940 general election[]

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1940 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Social Credit William Tomyn 2,329 61.11% –
Co-operative Commonwealth T. Tomashavsky 968 25.40% –
Independent M. N. Grekol 514 13.49% –
Total 3,811 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 165 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 6,172 64.42% –
Social Credit pickup new district.
Source(s)
Source: "Willingdon Official Results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1944 general election[]

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1944 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes
1st count		 % Votes
final count		 ±%
Social Credit William Tomyn 1,771 44.30% 1,844 -16.82%
Co-operative Commonwealth L. L. Kostash 1,328 33.22% 1,448 7.82%
Labor–Progressive William A. Yusep 899 22.49% – –
Total 3,998 – – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined N/A – – –
Eligible electors / turnout 5,867 68.14% 3.72% –
Social Credit hold Swing -12.32%
Source(s)
Source: "Willingdon Official Results 1944 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.

1948 general election[]

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1948 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Social Credit William Tomyn 2,111 53.15% 8.85%
Co-operative Commonwealth Nick W. Dushenski 1,861 46.85% 13.64%
Total 3,972 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 121 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 5,638 72.60% 4.45%
Social Credit hold Swing -2.39%
Source(s)
Source: "Willingdon Official Results 1948 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1952 general election[]

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1952 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes
1st count		 % Votes
final count		 ±%
Co-operative Commonwealth Nick W. Dushenski 1,760 42.55% 2,026 -4.30%
Social Credit William Tomyn 1,716 41.49% 1,812 -11.66%
Liberal John J. Fedun 660 15.96% – –
Total 4,136 – – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 201 – – –
Eligible electors / turnout 5,776 75.09% 2.49% –
Co-operative Commonwealth gain from Social Credit Swing -2.62%
Source(s)
Source: "Willingdon 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[]

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1955 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes
1st count		 % Votes
final count		 ±%
Co-operative Commonwealth Nick W. Dushenski 1,729 42.53% 2,108 -0.02%
Social Credit Nicholas A. Melnyk 1,580 38.87% 1,701 -2.62%
Liberal Nick Shandro 756 18.60% 2.64% –
Total 4,065 – – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 203 – – –
Eligible electors / turnout 5,654 75.49% 0.40% –
Co-operative Commonwealth hold Swing 1.30%
Source(s)
Source: "Willingdon 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[]

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1959 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Social Credit Nicholas A. Melnyk 2,421 63.64% 24.78%
Progressive Conservative Alex Hushlak 991 26.05% –
Co-operative Commonwealth Nick W. Svekla 392 10.30% -32.23%
Total 3,804 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 31 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 5,111 75.03% -0.45%
Social Credit gain from Co-operative Commonwealth Swing 16.96%
Source(s)
Source: "Willingdon Official Results 1959 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

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?
1,069     28.42% 2,716     71.76%
Province wide result: Option A passed.

1957 liquor plebiscite[]

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Willingdon[2]
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 1,400 76.63%
No 427 23.37%
Total votes 1,827 100%
Rejected, spoiled and declined 19
5,979 eligible electors, turnout 30.88%

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.[3]

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 women should be allowed to drink together in establishments.[2]

Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Willingdon voted in favour of the proposal with one of the largest percentages in the province. Voter turnout in the district was one of the worst in the province, barely topping 30%, significantly below the province wide average of 46%.[2]

Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957.[2] The Social Credit government in power at the time did not consider the results binding.[4] However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.[5]

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 who wanted a license had to petition for a binding municipal plebiscite in order to be granted a license.[6]

See also[]

References[]

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

Further reading[]

External links[]

Coordinates: 53°49′N 112°07′W / 53.82°N 112.12°W / 53.82; -112.12

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