Banff-Cochrane is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. This riding is home to the town of Banff and the popular tourist destination Banff National Park, environmental issues tend to dominate here.
The cost of living is significantly high especially in Canmore where there is a struggle to fill low wage service sector jobs, due to the high cost of living. Bears and wildlife encounters are also common in this riding, requiring extra attention to waste disposal. The area also has lots of ski resorts, a number of ranchers and farmers also make their home in the Alberta Foothills.
The riding was first created in 1940 out of the north half of the old Rocky Mountain riding, and the Cochrane riding. From 1975 to 1979 the riding was renamed Banff but was later reversed.
History
The electoral district has existed twice. The first iteration was created in the 1940 boundary redistribution from the ridings of Cochrane and Rocky Mountain. In 1975 the riding name was changed to Banff and it was set back to Banff-Cochrane in the 1977 redistribution.
The 2010 boundary redistribution saw Banff-Cochrane gain the land south of Cochrane that was in the old Foothills-Rocky View electoral district.[1]
Boundary history
| 45 Banff-Cochrane 2003 Boundaries[2] |
| Bordering Districts |
| North |
East |
West |
South |
| Rocky Mountain House |
Foothills-Rocky View, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, Highwood |
none |
Livingstone-Macleod |
| riding map goes here |
map in relation to other districts in Alberta goes here |
| Legal description from the Statutes of Alberta 2003, Electoral Divisions Act. |
| Starting at the intersection of the east boundary of Rge. 19 W5 and the east boundary of Banff National Park; then 1. in a generally southeasterly direction along the park boundary to the north boundary of Twp. 30; 2. east along the north boundary of the Twp. to the east boundary of Rge. 8 W5; 3. north along the east boundary of Rge. 8 W5 to the intersection with the right bank of the Red Deer River; 4. downstream along the right bank to the north boundary of Twp. 31; 5. east along the north boundary of the Twp. to the east boundary of Sec. 33 in Twp. 31, Rge. 6 W5; 6. south along the east boundary of Secs. 33, 28, 21 and 16 to the north boundary of Sec. 10 in the Twp.; 7. east along the north boundary of Secs. 10, 11 and 12 in the Twp. to the east boundary of Rge. 6; 8. south along the east boundary of Rge. 6 to the north boundary of Twp. 29, Rge. 6 W5; 9. west along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 34; 10. south along the east boundary of Secs. 34 and 27 to the north boundary of Sec. 23 in the Twp.; 11. east along the north boundary of Sec. 23 to the east boundary of Sec. 23; 12. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 24 in the Twp.; 13. east along the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 24 to the east boundary of the west half of Sec. 24; 14. south along the east boundary of the west half of Sec. 24 to the north boundary of Sec. 13; 15. east along the north boundary of Sec. 13 to the east boundary of Rge. 6 W5; 16. south along the east boundary of Rge. 6 to the north boundary of Sec. 12, Twp. 27, Rge. 6 W5; 17. west along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 11; 18. south along the east boundary of Secs. 11 and 2 in Twp. 27 and the east boundary of Secs. 35, 26, and 23 in Twp. 26 to the west shore of the Ghost Lake Reservoir; 19. south along the west shore to the north boundary of Sec. 12 in the Twp.; 20. east along the north boundary of Sec. 12 to the southeast shore of the Ghost Lake Reservoir and the northeast boundary of the Stoney Indian Reserve No. 142, 143 and 144; 21. generally east and south along the Stoney Indian Reserve No. 142, 143 and 144 to the west town boundary of Cochrane (at the east boundary of Sec. 8 in Twp. 26, Rge. 4 W5); 22. north along the east boundary of Sec. 8 to the north boundary of Sec. 9; 23. east along the north boundary of Secs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 to the east boundary of Rge. 4 W5; 24. south along the east boundary of Rge. 4 W5 to the east town boundary of Cochrane; 25. south, west and north along the Cochrane town boundary to the east boundary of the Stoney Indian Reserve No. 142, 143 and 144; 26. westerly along the boundary of the Stoney Indian Reserve No. 142, 143 and 144 to the intersection with the east boundary of Rge. 6 W5; 27. south along the east boundary of Rge. 6 to the north boundary of Twp. 23 and the intersection with the east boundary of the Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve; 28. south and east along the east boundary of the Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve to the north boundary of Sec. 14 in Twp. 15, Rge. 3 W5 (Highway 532); 29. southwesterly along the boundary of the Cataract Creek Snow Vehicle Forest Land Use Zone described in Order In Council 998/79 to the east boundary of Rge. 6 W5; 30. south along the east boundary of Rge. 6 W5 to the north boundary of Twp. 13; 31. west along the north boundary of Twp. 13 to the Alberta-British Columbia boundary; 32. northwesterly along the boundary to its intersection with the north boundary of Twp. 32; 33. northeast along a projected line to the starting point. |
| Note: |
Electoral history
The electoral district was created in the 1940 boundary redistribution primarily from the ridings of Cochrane and Rocky Mountain. The first representative to win the district was Independent candidate Frant Laut who defeated former Cochrane Social Credit incumbent William King in a hotly contested race.
Laut was defeated running for a second term in the 1944 general election by Social Credit candidate Arthur Wray. Two years into his term Wray was suspended the Social Credit caucus on February 20, 1946 for criticizing the Alberta government after requests to the Public Works department to remove snow from Cochrane roads was ignored.[4] The situation came to a head a year later when the Social Credit members passed a motion in the legislature to force Wray to move his desk to the opposition side of the house. His stand against cabinet won praise from his constituents in Cochrane.
The 1948 election would see a hotly contested battle as King and Laut attempt to regain their seat. Wray hung on to a second term in vote transfers. Wray would run for a third term in the 1952 election but would be defeated finishing a distant third by Social Credit candidate Lee Leavitt.
Leavitt was defeated by Frank Gainer who was one of two joint nominee's by the Progressive Conservative and Liberal parties in the 1955 election. He ran with the Coalition banner and sat in the legislature with it. Gainer won re-election in a hotly contested race in 1959. Pundits at the time figured he would be chosen to lead the four opposition members of different stripes with his Coalition banner, however no one was picked. He won a third term in 1963 before retiring in 1967.
The wide open race in 1967 saw Independent candidate Clarence Copithorne defeat Social Credit candidate Roy Wilson to win the district. Copithorne joined the Progressive Conservative caucus on April 15, 1971. He stood for reelection as a Progressive Conservative a few months later winning a strong plurality. He retired from provincial politics at dissolution in 1975.
In 1975 the riding name was changed to Banff before being changed back in 1979. Progressive Conservative candidate Greg Stevens held the district for three terms before retiring in 1993. He was replaced by Brian Evans for two terms. Janis Tarchuck the current representative was first elected in 1997 and has been re-elected for three more terms.
Legislature results 1940–1975
1940 general election
1944 general election
| 1944 Alberta general election results[6] |
Turnout 73.54% |
1st Count Swing |
|
Affiliation |
Candidate |
1st |
% |
2nd |
% |
Party |
Personal |
| |
Social Credit |
Arthur Wray |
1,568 |
38.51% |
1,805 |
50.67% |
0.40% |
* |
| |
Independent |
Frank Laut |
1,602 |
39.34% |
1,757 |
49.33% |
* |
−21.72% |
| |
Cooperative Commonwealth |
D. MacGregor |
902 |
22.15% |
|
* |
| Total |
4,072 |
100% |
3,562 |
100% |
| Exhausted Ballots |
0 |
510 |
| Rejected, Spoiled and Declined |
118 |
| 5,698 eligible electors |
| |
Social Credit pickup from Independent |
1st Count Swing 11.06% |
1948 general election
| 1948 Alberta general election results[7] |
Turnout 58.17% |
1st Count Swing |
|
Affiliation |
Candidate |
1st |
% |
2nd |
% |
Party |
Personal |
| |
Independent Social Credit |
Arthur Wray |
1,658 |
41.58% |
1,964 |
57.28% |
* |
3.07% |
| |
Independent |
Frank Laut |
1,246 |
31.24% |
1,465 |
42.72% |
* |
−8.10% |
| |
Social Credit |
William King |
1,084 |
27.18% |
|
−11.33% |
* |
| Total |
3,988 |
100% |
3,429 |
100% |
| Exhausted Ballots |
0 |
559 |
| Rejected, Spoiled and Declined |
291 |
| 7,356 eligible electors |
| |
Independent Social Credit hold from floor crossing |
1st Count Swing 5.59% |
1952 general election
| 1952 Alberta general election results[8] |
Turnout 56.83% |
Swing |
|
Affiliation |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
Party |
Personal |
|
Social Credit |
Lee Leavitt |
1,845 |
54.73% |
27.55% |
| |
Liberal |
C.C. Mathews |
1,035 |
30.70% |
* |
| |
Independent Social Credit |
Arthur Wray |
491 |
14.57% |
* |
−27.01% |
| Total |
3,371 |
100% |
| Rejected, Spoiled and Declined |
283 |
| 6,430 Eligible Electors |
| |
Social Credit pickup from Independent Social Credit |
Swing 29.13% |
1955 general election
1959 general election
| 1959 Alberta general election results[10] |
Turnout 63.23% |
Swing |
|
Affiliation |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
Party |
Personal |
| |
Coalition |
Frank Gainer |
2,279 |
50.79% |
-4.08% |
|
Social Credit |
Robin Echlin |
2,208 |
49.21% |
4.08% |
| Total |
4,487 |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined |
25 |
| Eligible electors / Turnout |
7,136 |
% |
| |
Coalition hold |
Swing −4.08% |
1963 general election
| 1963 Alberta general election results[11] |
Turnout 63.58% |
Swing |
|
Affiliation |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
Party |
Personal |
| |
Coalition |
Frank Gainer |
2,179 |
49.66% |
-1.13% |
|
Social Credit |
Victor Watson |
1,878 |
42.80% |
−6.41% |
| |
NDP |
Jack Fraser |
331 |
7.54% |
* |
| Total |
4,388 |
100% |
| Rejected, Spoiled and Declined |
12 |
| 6,921 Eligible Electors |
| |
Coalition hold |
Swing −3.77% |
1967 general election
1971 general election
Legislature results 1979–present
1979 general election
1982 general election
1986 general election
1989 general election
1993 general election
1997 general election
2001 general election
2004 general election
2008 general election
2012 general election
2015 general election
Senate nominee results
2004 Senate nominee election district results
| 2004 Senate nominee election results: Banff-Cochrane[25] |
Turnout 38.05% |
| Affiliation |
Candidate |
Votes |
% Votes |
% Ballots |
Rank |
|
Progressive Conservative |
Bert Brown |
3,183 |
16.46% |
50.60% |
1 |
|
Progressive Conservative |
Betty Unger |
2,745 |
14.20% |
43.63% |
2 |
|
Progressive Conservative |
Jim Silye |
2,360 |
12.21% |
37.51% |
5 |
|
Progressive Conservative |
David Usherwood |
2,232 |
11.54% |
35.48% |
6 |
| |
Independent |
Link Byfield |
2,094 |
10.83% |
33.29% |
4 |
|
Progressive Conservative |
Cliff Breitkreuz |
1,853 |
9.58% |
29.46% |
3 |
| |
Independent |
Tom Sindlinger |
1,588 |
8.21% |
25.24% |
9 |
|
Alberta Alliance |
Michael Roth |
1,130 |
5.84% |
17.96% |
7 |
|
Alberta Alliance |
Vance Gough |
1,109 |
5.74% |
17.62% |
8 |
|
Alberta Alliance |
Gary Horan |
1,041 |
5.39% |
16.55% |
10 |
| Total Votes |
19,335 |
100% |
| Total Ballots |
6,291 |
3.07 Votes Per Ballot |
| Rejected, Spoiled and Declined |
1,826 |
Voters had the option of selecting 4 Candidates on the Ballot
2012 Senate nominee election district results
Plebiscite district results
1948 Electrification Plebiscite
District data for the 1948 Electrification Plebiscite
| 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? |
| 2,624 64.31% |
1,456 35.69% |
| Province wide result: Option A passed. |
1957 liquor plebiscite
| 1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Banff-Cochrane[26] |
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 |
2,324 |
78.33% |
|
No |
643 |
21.67% |
| Total Votes |
2,967 |
100% |
| Rejected, Spoiled and Declined |
37 |
| 6,237 Eligible Electors, Turnout 48.16% |
Question B1: Should mixed drinking be allowed
in beer parlours in Calgary and the surrounding areas? |
|
Ballot Choice |
Votes |
% |
|
Yes |
115 |
87.12% |
|
No |
17 |
12.88% |
| Total Votes |
132 |
100% |
| Rejected, Spoiled and Declined |
0 |
| 242 Eligible Electors, Turnout 54.55% |
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.[27]
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.[26] Question B was slightly modified depending on which city the voters were in.[26]
Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Banff-Cochrane voted overwhelmingly in favor of the plebiscite. The district recorded a slightly above average voter turnout, being a couple points above the province wide 46% average.[26] The landslide in favour of Question A was attributed to recognition of the tourist industry in Banff and the national parks.
Banff-Cochrane also voted on question B1 with a number of residents lying inside the electoral district within the corporate limits of Calgary. Residents voted for mixed drinking with a super majority. Turnout for question B was also quite high.[26]
Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957.[26] The Social Credit government in power at the time did not considered the results binding.[28] However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.[29]
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.[30]
1967 Daylight Saving Plebiscite
District data from the 1967 Daylight Saving Plebiscite
| Do you favour province-wide daylight saving time? |
| For |
Against |
| 2,323 48.17% |
2,499 51.82% |
| Province wide result: Failed |
1971 Daylight Saving Plebiscite
District data from the 1971 Daylight Saving Plebiscite
| Do you favour province-wide daylight saving time? |
| For |
Against |
| 4,034 59.46% |
2,750 40.54% |
| Province wide result: Passed |
Student Vote results
2004 election
| Participating Schools[31] |
| Holy Spirit Catholic School |
| Lawerence Grassi Middle School |
| Mitford Middle School |
| Our Lady of the Snows |
On November 19, 2004 a Student Vote was conducted at participating Alberta schools to parallel the 2004 Alberta general election results. The vote was designed to educate students and simulate the electoral process for persons who have not yet reached the legal majority. The vote was conducted in 80 of the 83 provincial electoral districts with students voting for actual election candidates. Schools with a large student body that reside in another electoral district had the option to vote for candidates outside of the electoral district then where they were physically located.
2012 election
References
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External links
Alberta electoral district
