Grouard (electoral district)

Grouard was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. It was mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1913 to 1971.

History

Boundary history

Grouard was created from the southwest quarter of Athabasca in 1913, centred on the small community of Grouard. Its main population centres soon became High Prairie and Falher, containing a number of Franco-Albertan communities. Its boundaries saw minor adjustments throughout its history, but it retained a similar size and shape until abolished in 1971, with the northeast parts going to Lesser Slave Lake and the southwest parts becoming Smoky River.

Representation history

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Grouard
Assembly	Years	Member		Party
See Athabasca 1905-1913
3rd	1913–1917		Jean Côté	Liberal
4th	1917–1921
5th	1921–1923
	1923–1924		Vacant
	1924–1926		Leonidas Giroux	Liberal
6th	1926–1930
7th	1930–1935
8th	1935–1936
	1936		Vacant
	1936-1940		Joseph Tremblay	Liberal
9th	1940–1944		Joseph Tremblay	Liberal
10th	1944–1948		William Fallow	Social Credit
10th	1948		Vacant
11th	1948–1951		John Wood	Social Credit
	1951		Vacant
	1951–1952		Joseph Desfosses	Liberal
12th	1952–1955
13th	1955–1959
14th	1959–1963		Roy Ells	Social Credit
15th	1963–1967
16th	1967–1971
See Lesser Slave Lake after 1971 and Smoky River 1971-1993

Grouard was one of the friendliest ridings for the Alberta Liberal Party, and in its 58-year history, never once voted out an incumbent MLA.

Incumbent Athabasca MLA Jean Côté decided to run in the new riding of Grouard when it was created in 1913, easily defeating his Conservative challenger. He won re-election twice, and was appointed to the Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Mackenzie King in 1923, vacating his seat.

The resulting by-election was won handily by another Liberal, Leonidas Giroux. He was re-elected three times, defending his seat even in 1935, which saw every other seat in rural Alberta swept up by the nascent Social Credit Party of William Aberhart. However, Giroux died in office the following year.

The by-election in fall 1936 was again won by a Liberal, Joseph Tremblay, who narrowly defeated his Social Credit rival. Tremblay won a razor-thin re-election in 1940, one of only two Liberal candidates across the province in that election, and decided to retire when the legislature was dissolved.

The Liberals did not field a single candidate in 1944. With Social Credit candidate William Fallow finally capturing Grouard for the government, this ended the longest streak for any party in Alberta's tumultuous early politics. Fallow also died in office in 1948, but no by-election was held, as a general election took place that year.

Social Credit won the riding for a second time, with John Wood gaining a comfortable victory on the second count. He resigned his post before the term finished, necessitating another by-election in 1951.

Liberal Joseph Desfosses narrowly won the riding back for his party, serving with the revived opposition party until he chose to retire in 1959.

Grouard's final MLA was Roy Ells, who sat with the governing Social Credit for three terms until the riding was abolished in 1971.

Election results

1910s

Alberta general election, 1913
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Jean Côté	347	63.32%
	Conservative	O. Travers	201	36.68%
Total valid votes^[1]			548
Rejected, spoiled and declined			-
Electors / Turnout			777	70.53%
	Liberal pickup new district.

Alberta general election, 1917
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Jean Côté	688	70.71%	+7.39%
	Conservative	Eugene Gravel	285	29.29%	-7.39%
Total valid votes^[1]			973
Rejected, spoiled and declined			-
Electors / Turnout			1,265	76.92%	+6.39%
	Liberal hold		Swing		+7.39%

Following the convention at the time, Côté stood in a by-election upon being named to cabinet. However, since no other candidates contested it, he was acclaimed.

Alberta provincial by-election, October 21, 1918 upon being appointed Provincial Secretary
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Jean Côté	Acclaimed
Total valid votes^[2]			0
	Liberal hold

1920s

Alberta general election, 1921
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Jean Côté	963	57.84%	-12.87%
	United Farmers	H.G. Dimsdale	702	42.16%
Total valid votes^[1]			1,665
Rejected, spoiled and declined			-
Electors / Turnout			2,362	70.49%	-6.43%
	Liberal hold		Swing		-27.52%

Alberta provincial by-election, July 11, 1924 upon the appointment of Jean Côté to the Senate of Canada
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Leonidas Giroux	1,085	70.36%	+12.52%
	United Farmers	J.M. Cull	457	29.64%	-12.52%
Total valid votes^[2]			1,542
Rejected, spoiled and declined			-
Electors / Turnout			-	-	-
	Liberal gain		Swing		+12.52%

Alberta general election, 1926
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Leonidas Giroux	1,224	75.05%	+4.69%
	Conservative	H.G. Dimsdale	407	24.95%
Total valid votes^[1]			1,631
Rejected, spoiled and declined			64
Electors / Turnout			2,511	67.50%	-
	Liberal hold		Swing		-10.13%

1930s

Alberta general election, 1930
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Leonidas Giroux	1,706	62.65%	-12.40%
	United Farmers	Jean Field	1,017	37.35%
Total valid votes^[1]			2,723
Rejected, spoiled and declined			6
Electors / Turnout			3,988	68.43%	+0.93%
	Liberal hold		Swing		-24.88%

Alberta general election, 1935
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Leonidas Giroux	2,272	55.89%	-6.76%
	Social Credit	R.A. Pelletier	1,447	35.60%
	United Farmers	E.E. Requier	346	8.51%	-28.84%
Total valid votes^[1]			4,065
Rejected, spoiled and declined			135
Electors / Turnout			5,378	78.10%	+9.67%
	Liberal hold		Swing		-21.18%

Alberta provincial by-election, December 7, 1936 upon the death of Leonidas Giroux
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Joseph Tremblay	1,668	52.26%	-3.63%
	Social Credit	W.J. Desrosiers	1,524	47.74%	+12.14%
Total valid votes^[2]			3,192
Rejected, spoiled and declined			-
Electors / Turnout			-	-	-
	Liberal hold		Swing		-7.89%

1940s

Alberta general election, 1940
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Joseph Tremblay	1,747	39.05%	-13.21%
	Social Credit	J.A. Maurice	1,703	38.06%	-9.68%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Michael O'Grady	1,024	22.89%
Second Count
	Liberal	Joseph Tremblay	1,965	50.05%	+11.00%
	Social Credit	J.A. Maurice	1,961	49.95%	+11.89%
	No second preference		548
Total valid votes^[1]			4,474
Rejected, spoiled and declined			197
Electors / Turnout			7,528	62.05%	-
	Liberal hold		Swing		-1.77%

First-count swing is calculated from the 1936 by-election, while second-count swing reflects increase in vote share from the first count.

Alberta general election, 1944
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Social Credit	William Fallow	2,612	57.29%	+19.23%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Mike O'Grady	1,560	34.22%	+11.33%
	Labor–Progressive	Merie Evanuk	387	8.49%
Total valid votes^[1]			4,559
Rejected, spoiled and declined			168
Electors / Turnout			7,019	67.35%	+5.30%
	Social Credit gain from Liberal		Swing		+3.95%

Alberta general election, 1948
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Social Credit	John Wood	2,493	44.58%	-12.71%
	Liberal	André Dechêne	1,850	33.08%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	D.B. Fraser	1,249	22.34%	-11.88%
Second Count
	Social Credit	John Wood	2,717	58.63%	+14.05%
	Liberal	André Dechêne	1,917	41.37%	+8.29%
	No second preference		958
Total valid votes^[1]			5,592
Rejected, spoiled and declined			376
Electors / Turnout			7,881	75.73%	+8.38%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-22.90%

1950s

Alberta provincial by-election, June 21, 1951 upon the resignation of John Wood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Joseph Desfosses	2,275	44.16%	+11.08%
	Social Credit	D. McLaughlin	2,197	42.64%	-1.94%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	C.R. Clark	680	13.20%	-9.14%
Total valid votes^[2]			5,152
Rejected, spoiled and declined			-
Electors / Turnout			-	-	-
	Liberal gain from Social Credit		Swing		+6.51%

Alberta general election, 1952
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Joseph Desfosses	2,358	42.54%	-1.62%
	Social Credit	Joseph St. Arnaud	2,234	40.30%	-2.34%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Charlton Clark	951	17.16%	+3.96%
Second Count
	Liberal	Joseph Desfosses	2,558	51.54%	+9.00%
	Social Credit	Joseph St. Arnaud	2,405	48.46%	+8.16%
	No second preference		580
Total valid votes^[1]			5,543
Rejected, spoiled and declined			335
Electors / Turnout			8,974	65.50%	-
	Liberal hold		Swing		+0.36%

Alberta general election, 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Joseph Desfosses	2,855	49.70%	+7.16%
	Social Credit	Fred Bullen	2,319	40.37%	+0.07%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	C.R. Clark	571	9.94%	-7.22%
Second Count
	Liberal	Joseph Desfosses	3,026	55.41%	+5.71%
	Social Credit	Fred Bullen	2,435	44.59%	+4.22%
	No second preference		284
Total valid votes^[1]			5,745
Rejected, spoiled and declined			510
Electors / Turnout			9,271	67.47%	+1.97%
	Liberal hold		Swing		+3.55%

Alberta general election, 1959
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Social Credit	Roy Ells	3,727	57.23%	+16.86%
	Liberal	Paul Maisonneuve	1,476	22.67%	-27.03%
	Progressive Conservative	Paul Soulodre	1,309	20.10%
Total valid votes^[1]			6,512
Rejected, spoiled and declined			25
Electors / Turnout			9,020	72.47%	+5.00%
	Social Credit gain from Liberal		Swing		+21.95%

1960s

Alberta general election, 1963
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Social Credit	Roy Ells	3,832	62.81%	+5.58%
	Liberal	Gunner Wahlstrom	1,595	26.14%	+3.47%
	New Democratic	Clifford Tollefson	674	11.05%
Total valid votes^[1]			6,101
Rejected, spoiled and declined			42
Electors / Turnout			9,169	67.00%	-5.47%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		+1.06%

Alberta general election, 1967
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Social Credit	Roy Ells	3,363	51.30%	-11.51%
	New Democratic	Stan Daniels	2,207	33.67%	+22.62%
	Liberal	Gunner Wahlstrom	985	15.03%	-11.11%
Total valid votes^[1]			6,555
Rejected, spoiled and declined			36
Electors / Turnout			10,323	63.85%	-8.62%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-17.07%

Plebiscite results

1957 liquor plebiscite

Question A: Do you approve additional types of outlets for the sale of beer, wine and spirituous liquor subject to a local vote?
1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Grouard^[3]
Ballot Choice		Votes	%
	Yes	1,388	69.99%
	No	595	30.01%
Total Votes		1,983	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined		48
8,426 Eligible Electors, Turnout 24.10%

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. Grouard voted in favour of the proposal with a landslide majority. Voter turnout in the district was abysmal, and the lowest in the province falling to half of 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]

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Results for Grouard". Community Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
1 2 3 4 "By-elections". Elections Alberta. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
1 2 3 4 Alberta Gazette. 53 (December 31 ed.). Government of Alberta. 1957. pp. 2,247–2,249.
↑ "Albertans Vote 2 to 1 For More Liquor Outlets". Vol L No 273. The Lethbridge Herald. October 31, 1957. pp. 1–2.
↑ "No Sudden Change In Alberta Drinking Habits Is Seen". Vol L No 267. The Lethbridge Herald. October 24, 1957. p. 1.
↑ "Entirely New Act On Liquor". Vol LI No 72. The Lethbridge Herald. March 5, 1958. p. 1.
↑ "Bill 81". Alberta Bills 12th Legislature 1st Session. Government of Alberta. 1958. p. 40.

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