Athabasca-Lac La Biche

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Athabasca-Lac La Biche
Alberta electoral district
Defunct provincial electoral district
LegislatureLegislative Assembly of Alberta
District created1986
District abolished1993
First contested1986
Last contested1989

Athabasca-Lac La Biche was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 1986 to 1993.[1]

History[edit]

The Athabasca-Lac La Biche electoral district was established in the 1986 electoral boundary re-distribution from the Athabasca and Lac La Biche-McMurray electoral districts.

The electoral district was abolished in the 1993 electoral district re-distribution and succeeded by Lac La Biche-St. Paul and Athabasca-Wabasca electoral districts.

Representation history[edit]

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Athabasca-Lac La Biche
Assembly Years Member Party
See Athabasca electoral district from 1905-1986
and Lac La Biche-McMurray electoral district from 1971-1986
21st  1986–1989     Leo Piquette New Democratic
22nd  1989–1993     Mike Cardinal Progressive Conservative
See Athabasca-Wabasca electoral district from 1993–2001
and Lac La Biche-St. Paul electoral district from 1993–2012

The short-lived Athabasca-Lac La Biche electoral district was contested only twice but returned two different members to the Legislature. Although the Progressive Conservatives had held the antecedent ridings since 1971 and 1975, New Democrat Leo Piquette picked up the new riding in 1986, one of only two rural districts won by the party in that election. In 1987 Piquette famously attempted to ask a question in the Legislature in French, sparking controversy over the place of the French language in Alberta.[2]

In 1989, Piquette was defeated by PC candidate Mike Cardinal. He sponsored the Metis Settlements Land Protection Act in 1990 and was appointed to Ralph Klein's cabinet in 1992.

When the riding was abolished in 1993, Cardinal went on to run in the new district of Athabasca-Wabasca, and would serve four more terms in the Legislature. The other part of Athabasca-Lac La Biche went to the new riding of Lac La Biche-St. Paul, which the Liberals would win in the 1993 election.

Election results[edit]

1986[edit]

1986 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Leo Piquette 3,372 39.23%
Progressive Conservative Bill Kostiw 3,098 36.04%
Liberal Don J. Corse 1,942 22.59%
Western Canada Concept Peter Mihailuk 184 2.14%
Total 8,596
Rejected, spoiled and declined 17
Eligible electors / turnout 13,941 61.78%
New Democratic pickup new district.
Source(s)
Source: "Athabasca-Lac La Biche Official Results 1986 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1989[edit]

1989 Alberta general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Mike Cardinal 4,237 45.22% 9.18%
New Democratic Leo Piquette 3,342 35.67% -3.56%
Liberal Tom Maccagno 1,791 19.11% -3.48%
Total 9,370
Rejected, spoiled and declined 30
Eligible electors / turnout 13,933 67.47%
Progressive Conservative gain from New Democratic Swing 3.18%
Source(s)
Source: "Athabasca-Lac La Biche Official Results 1989 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Election results for Athabasca-Lac La Biche". abheritage.ca. Wayback Machine: Heritage Community Foundation. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Fisher, Matthew (1987-04-08). "Speak English in House, Alberta MLA told". The Globe and Mail.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]