Edmonton (N.W.T. electoral district)

Edmonton was a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories, Canada.

Edmonton
Northwest Territories electoral district
Defunct territorial electoral district
LegislatureLegislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
District created1883
District abolished1905
First contested1883 by-election
Last contested1902 general election

History

The riding was created by royal proclamation in 1883, the second district to elect a representative to the North-West Legislative Assembly, and the first within the Alberta provisional district.

In 1885 the riding of St. Albert was split off from Edmonton's northwestern area, but in 1888 two ridings were combined again, with Edmonton briefly becoming a two-member district. St. Albert was re-established in 1891, and Edmonton again elected only one member. Strathcona was also split off from Edmonton's southern part in 1902.

When Alberta became a province in 1905, the district continued on as Edmonton (Alberta).

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Edmonton
Assembly Years Seat 1 Seat 2
Member[1] Party Member Party
1st Council 1883-1885 Frank Oliver Independent N/A
1885-1888 Herbert Wilson
1st 1888-1891 Frank Oliver Independent
2nd 1891-1894 Frank Oliver N/A
3rd 1894-1896
1896 Vacant
1896-1898 Matthew McCauley Independent
4th 1898-1902
5th 1902-1905 Richard Secord
See Edmonton (Alberta) 1905-1909

Edmonton elected its first representative in the North-West Assembly, Edmonton Bulletin founder Frank Oliver, in a by-election in 1883. Although the Legislative Council was not dissolved, elections were held in most of the North-West Territories in 1885, and Oliver was defeated by local physician and businessman Herbert Charles Wilson, who became speaker of the Assembly.

The first general election of the territory was held in 1888, after the dissolution of the Legislative Council. This was the only election in which Edmonton was a double-member district, and both Wilson and Oliver were elected. Wilson retired from politics when the Assembly was dissolved in 1891.

As Edmonton was now a single-member district again, Oliver remained MLA for another five years, with no challengers in the 1891 or 1894 elections. He resigned to run for the House of Commons seat for Alberta, which he successfully captured.

The resulting by-election was a close race between former Edmonton mayor Matthew McCauley and the future premier of Alberta Alexander Rutherford, which McCauley won. Both men contested the seat again in the general election of 1898, but McCauley triumphed a second time.

In 1902, however, McCauley was defeated by former alderman Richard Secord. While MLA, Secord challenged Frank Oliver for his House of Commons seat in the 1904 federal election, but was defeated. He did not seek re-election when Alberta was created in 1905 (although both Rutherford and McCauley went on to become MLAs in the new province).

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

May 29, 1883 by-election
[1] Name Vote %
     Frank Oliver 155 58.94%
     Francis Lamoureux 94 35.74%
     Stewart D. Mulkins 14 5.32%
Total Votes 263 100%
1885 Northwest Territories election
[1] Name Vote %
     Herbert Charles Wilson 120 51.95%
     Frank Oliver 111 48.05%
Total Votes 231 100%
1888 Northwest Territories general election
[1] Name Vote % Elected
     Herbert Charles Wilson 395 32.54% X
     Frank Oliver 350 28.83% X
     Samuel Cunningham 319 26.28%
     Daniel Maloney 150 12.35%
Total Votes 1,214 100%

Elections in the 1890s

1891 Northwest Territories general election
[1] Name Vote %
     Frank Oliver Acclaimed
1894 Northwest Territories general election
[1] Name Vote %
     Frank Oliver Acclaimed
August 4, 1896 by-election
[1] Name Vote %
     Matthew McCauley 567 58.64%
     Alexander Cameron Rutherford 400 41.36%
Total Votes 967 100%
1898 Northwest Territories general election
[1] Name Vote %
     Matthew McCauley 582 48.83%
     Alexander Cameron Rutherford 498 41.77%
     Harry Havelock Robertson 112 9.40%
Total Votes 1,192 100%

1902 election

1902 Northwest Territories general election
[1] Name Vote %
     Richard Secord 527 47.96%
     Matthew McCauley 519 46.97%
     Don Brox 59 5.07%
Total Votes 1,105 100%

See also

  • Edmonton Alberta provincial electoral district.
  • Edmonton federal electoral district.

References

  1. "North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
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