The 1913 Alberta general election was held in March 1913. The writ was dropped on 25 March 1913 and election day was held 17 April 1913 to elect 56 members to the

3rd Alberta Legislature The 3rd Alberta Legislative Assembly was in session from September 16, 1913, to April 5, 1917, with the membership of the assembly determined by the results of the 1913 Alberta general election held on April 17, 1913. The Legislature officially r ...

. Elections in two northern districts took place on 30 July 1913 to compensate for the remote location of the riding. The method to elect members was under the

First Past the Post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

voting system with the exception of the

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

district which returned two members under a plurality block vote. The election was unusual with the

writ period In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoena ...

for the general election being a very short period of 23 days. Premier Arthur Sifton led the

Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral de l'Alberta) is a provincial political party in Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairi ...

into his first election as leader, after taking over from Alexander Rutherford. Premier Rutherford had resigned for his government's involvement in the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway Scandal but remained a sitting member. Sifton faced great criticism for calling the snap election, after ramming gerrymandered electoral boundaries through the legislature, running up the provincial debt and neglecting on promised railways. The Socialist Party carried the banner for labour- and farmer-minded voters in five constituencies; in others, Independent candidates were of distinctively leftist sentiment. Edward Michener, the official opposition leader of the Conservative Party, ended up capitalizing on anger toward the Sifton government. He would lead the largest opposition to date in Alberta history. The Liberals would win a comfortable majority of seats despite being almost even in the popular vote. The Socialist Party vote would collapse and lose their only seat as

Charles M. O'Brien Charles Macnamara (Charlie) O'Brien (March 2, 1875 – February 23, 1952) was a Canadian socialist activist and politician in Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1909 to 1913. Biography O'Brien was born ...

went down to defeat at the hands of a Conservative.

Events leading to the election

The campaign

The writ of election was issued after a sitting of the house on the night of 25 March 1913. The premier dropped the election writ and dissolved the house after he ensured that the governments legislation on new electoral boundaries had been given Royal Assent. The new boundaries gave the Liberals an advantage, not only were they blatantly gerrymandered to their favour, but the opposition and even private citizens had a tough time figuring out what district they were in. Edward michener

Day one of the campaign brought controversy as it was reported that Hotel organizers and Liquor establishments were being expected to donate generously to the Liberal campaign in order to get licence renewals for their establishments. Arthur Sifton, his lieutenant Charles Cross and Liberal candidate Alexander Grant MacKay each won nominations in two electoral districts. The Calgary Herald (a Conservative newspaper) surmised that Sifton and Cross were so scared of the electorate they felt they might not win if they ran in just one district. It accused Premier Sifton of having little confidence in his ability to return his government to power. The Liberal government in order to prevent possible vote splitting made promises of concessions to trade unions and labour organizations so that they would not publicly support leftist candidates. The Conservative Party protested the snap election by filing a legal injunction in the Supreme Court, to prevent the election from being held on 17 April 1913. The grounds for the injunction were based on the date of nomination closure being in violation of statue. The writs were issued with nomination day being 10 April 1913. The Conservatives argued that this was 10 hours short of the 16 full days prescribed in the Elections Ordinance, and the election should be ruled invalid.

Election issues

The big issues of the election centred on the Sifton government's lack of infrastructure building in Southern Alberta. The ballooning Alberta debt which in a few years had gone from C$2 million to C$27 million was talked about often.

Gerrymandered boundaries

Prior to the dropping of the writ the Sifton government forced a bill through the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sing ...

. The bill was entitled Bill 90: ''An Act to Amend an Act concerning members elected to the Legislative assembly of Alberta'' It was introduced in the assembly on 20 March 1913 and given Royal Assent on 25 March 1913. The bill increased the number of electoral districts in the province by 15. The boundaries did not contain equal population with one riding Clearwater only containing 74 people enumerated. Calgary Centre was the largest population wise with 20,000 people enumerated. The bill drawn with a line at the centre of the province gave 30 seats to the north half of the province with 26 seats in the south. The Conservative and Socialist opposition vigorously opposed the bill, but failed to pass any amendments. The bill was jammed through third reading in the 25 March legislative sitting and given Royal Assent that evening, just shy of the writ of elections being dropped.

Siftonism

The Liberal campaign was dubbed "Siftonism" inferring that Sifton was a disease that needed to be cleaned from Alberta. The media at the time picked up on that, and roasted the Liberal party. The Conservative party attacked the Liberals on the Railway Scandal and Lack of provincial infrastructure.

Results

The final result was the Liberal Party, under its new leader,

Arthur L. Sifton Arthur Lewis Watkins Sifton (October 26, 1858 – January 21, 1921) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and politician who served as the second premier of Alberta from 1910 until 1917. He became a minister in the federal cabinet of Canada thereaf ...

, won a third term in office, defeating the Conservative Party, which was once again led by Edward Michener. The opposition received a much higher proportion of the votes and increased its seat count to 17 from 2, while the Liberals again got more votes than the Conservatives and won many of the new seats, allowing them to hang onto a majority. The votes were split almost evenly between the Conservatives and Liberals with a difference of 4 percent separating the two parties. In the Rocky Mountain constituency, the Socialist vote doubled but the vote for the Conservative went up even more, to make that candidate the winner, and the Socialists lost their only seat in the Assembly. Oddly, the Assembly did not have its full complement of MLAs after the election, as C.W. Cross was elected to two seats. When this happened elsewhere, such as Laurier's election as MP in both the North-West Territories (including part of what would be Alberta) and Quebec, the double winner resigned one of the seats. But Cross held both seats until the next general election.

Summary

Note #Charles Cross ran in and won in two ridings. #Arthur Sifton and Alexander G. MacKay ran for the Liberals in two districts but only won in 1 district. #Liberal-Labor candidates were a result of the Liberal Labour coalition struck by Premier Sifton prior to the election, these candidates ran in place of Liberals. See also Liberal-Labour (Canada). #Liberal-Labor popular vote is included in Liberal vote.

Members elected

For complete electoral history, see individual districts , - , Acadia , , , John A. McColl
637
56.27% , , W.D. Bentley
495
43.73% , , , , ''New District'' , - , Alexandra , , N.C. Lyster
470
40.69% , , ,

James R. Lowery James Robert Lowery (April 12, 1884 – December 8, 1956) was a Canadian oilman, politician and military officer from Alberta. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1913 to 1921 sitting with the Conservative caucus in ...

478
41.39% , , W.H. Anderson
207
17.92% , , , Alwyn Bramley-Moore , - , Athabasca , , , Alexander Grant MacKay
5,327
838.90% , , J.H. Wood
221
34.80% , , , , , Jean Léon Côté , - , Beaver River , , ,

Wilfrid Gariepy Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, ...

457
61.67% , , A. Grey
284
38.33% , , , , ''New District'' , - , Bow Valley , , , George Lane
396
61.78% , ,

Harold William Hounsfield Riley Harold William Hounsfield Riley Sr. (December 15, 1877 – January 1, 1946) was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He was born in St. Lambert, Quebec and his family moved to Calgary in 1888. On October 31, 1911 after the death ...

245
38.22% , , , , ''New District'' , - ,

Centre Calgary Centre Calgary was a provincial electoral district in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting from 1913 to 1921. History The Centre ...

, ,

John Chantler McDougall John Chantler McDougall (1842–1917) was a missionary, civil servant and published author in Alberta, Canada. Personal life John McDougall was born in 1842 in Sydenham, Upper Canada. He moved west with his father George Millward McDougall to the ...

728
31.76% , , , Thomas M.M. Tweedie
1,564
68.24% , , , , , ''New District from

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

''
Thomas M.M. Tweedie , - , North Calgary , ,

George Henry Ross George Henry Ross (June 13, 1878 – September 26, 1956) was a politician and barrister from Alberta, Canada. During his career, Ross served as a councillor on Calgary City Council, a Member of Parliament and senator. Early life George He ...

822
32.11% , , ,

Samuel Bacon Hillocks Samuel Bacon Hillocks (February 11, 1869 – 1937) was a politician, Presbyterian minister and inventor of the Grain Door. From Alberta, Canada, he was born in Bathurst, New Brunswick. Religion Hillocks was one of the two ministers who presided ...

1,482
57.89% , , Harry Roderick Burge (Socialist)
256
10.00% , , ''New District from

'' , - , South Calgary , , Clifford Teasdale Jones
1,423
28.03% , , , Thomas H. Blow
3,654
71.97% , , , , ''New District from

'' , - , Camrose , , , George P. Smith
1,651
86.89% , , R.L. Rushton
249
13.11% , , , , , George P. Smith , - , Cardston , , ,

Martin Woolf Martin Woolf Sr. (October 18, 1858 – August 25, 1928) was a politician, civil servant and police magistrate from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1912 to 1921 sitting with the Liberal caucus i ...

518
51.96% , , C. Jensen
479
48.04% , , , , , John William Woolf , - , Claresholm , , , William Moffat
496
51.08% , , D.S. McMillan
348
35.84% , , G. Malshow
127
13.08% , , , Malcolm McKenzie , - , Clearwater , , , Henry William McKenney
40
38.83% , , A. Williamson Taylor
39
37.86% , , Joseph Andrew Clarke (Socialist)
24
23.30% , , ''New District'' , - ,

Cochrane Cochrane may refer to: Places Australia *Cochrane railway station, Sydney, a railway station on the closed Ropes Creek railway line Canada * Cochrane, Alberta * Cochrane Lake, Alberta * Cochrane District, Ontario ** Cochrane, Ontario, a town wit ...

, , , Charles Wellington Fisher
475
55.56% , , H.F. Jarrett
380
44.44% , , , , , Charles Wellington Fisher , - , Coronation , , ,

Frank H. Whiteside Frank Henry Whiteside (July 15, 1873 – September 29, 1916) was a Canadian politician and journalist from Alberta. Whiteside was killed while serving in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 1916. Early life Frank Henry Whiteside was born i ...

739
51.61% , ,

William Wallace Wilson William Wallace Wilson (October 26, 1876 – August 20, 1967) was a provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. Early life William Wallace Wilson was born October 26, 1876 in Fergus, Ontario to James Wilson and Jacqueline Gartshore. Poli ...

693
48.39% , , , , ''New District'' , - , Didsbury , , , Joseph E. Stauffer
948
59.32% , , G.B. Sexsmith
650
40.68% , , , , , Joseph E. Stauffer , - , rowspan="2" ,

, , , Charles Wilson Cross
5,407
26.29% , , William Antrobus Griesbach
4,499
21.87% , , J.D. Blayney
643
3.13% , , , Charles Wilson Cross , - , , Alexander Grant MacKay
4,913
23.89% , , ,

Albert Freeman Ewing Albert Freeman Ewing (June 29, 1871 – August 26, 1946) was a provincial politician and judge from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1913 to 1921 sitting with the Conservative caucus in opposi ...

5,107
24.83% , , , , , John Alexander McDougall , - , Edmonton-South , , Alexander Cameron Rutherford
1,275
45.57% , , , Herbert Howard Crawford
1,523
54.43% , , , , , ''Renamed from Strathcona''
Alexander Cameron Rutherford , - , Edson , , , Charles Wilson Cross
6,078
462.21% , , H.H. Verge
644
48.97% , , , , ''New District'' , - , Gleichen , , , John P. McArthur
641
52.67% , , George McElroy
576
47.33% , , , , , Ezra H. Riley , - , Grouard , , , Jean Léon Côté
347
63.32% , , O. Travers
201
36.68% , , , , ''New District'' , - , Hand Hills , , , Robert Berry Eaton
962
53.36% , ,

Albert J. Robertson Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

841
46.64% , , , , ''New District'' , - , High River , , R.L. McMillan
558
47.53% , , , George Douglas Stanley
616
52.47% , , , , , Louis Melville Roberts , - , Innisfail , ,

John A. Simpson John Adrian Simpson (August 20, 1854 – September 11, 1916) was a Canadian politician and businessman. Born in Peel County, Ontario, Peel County, Canada West, he came west in 1890 and eventually settled in Innisfail, Alberta, Innisfail, where h ...

526
49.58% , , , Frederick William Archer
535
50.42% , , , , ,

, - , Lac Ste. Anne , , ,

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The ser ...

517
52.17% , ,

George R. Barker George Russell Barker was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1917 to 1921 sitting with the Conservative caucus in opposition. Political career Barker ran for a seat t ...

474
47.83% , , , , ,

, - ,

Lacombe Lacombe may refer to: Places * Lacombe, Alberta, Canada * Lacombe County, Alberta, Canada * Lacombe, Louisiana, United States * Lacombe, Aude, France People * Albert Lacombe (1827–1916), oblate missionary to the Cree and Blackfoot * Bernar ...

, , , William Franklin Puffer
878
58.46% , , Angus MacDonald
624
41.54% , , , , , William Franklin Puffer , - , Leduc , , , Stanley G. Tobin
582
57.17% , , George Curry
436
42.83% , , , , , Robert T. Telford , - , Lethbridge City , , J.O. Jones
1,033
38.46% , , ,

John S. Stewart John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

1,371
51.04% , , Joseph R. Knight (Socialist)
282
10.50% , , ,

, - , Little Bow , , , James McNaughton
721
52.02% , , John T. MacDonald
339
24.46% , , F.A. Bryant (Ind.)
202
14.57%
Alfred Buddon (Socialist)
124
8.95% , , ''New District'' , - , Macleod , ,

560
49.17% , , , Robert Patterson
579
50.83% , , , , , Robert Patterson , - ,

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are with ...

, , Charles Richmond Mitchell
1,823
49.73% , , , Nelson C. Spencer
1,843
50.27% , , , , , William Thomas Finlay , - , Nanton , , ,

John M. Glendenning John Murray Glendenning (May 22, 1872 – March 17, 1962) was a politician from Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta ...

463
59.51% , , J.T. Cooper
315
40.49% , , , , ,

, - ,

Okotoks Okotoks (, originally ) is a town in the Calgary Region of Alberta, Canada. It is on the Sheep River, approximately south of Calgary. Okotoks has emerged as a bedroom community of Calgary. According to the 2016 Census, the town has a populati ...

, , John A. Turner
380
39.01% , , , George Hoadley
594
60.99% , , , , , George Hoadley , - ,

Olds Olds may refer to: People * The olds, a jocular and irreverent online nickname for older adults * Bert Olds (1891–1953), Australian rules footballer * Carl D. Olds (1912–1979), New Zealand-born American mathematician * Chauncey N. Olds (1816� ...

, , ,

Duncan Marshall Duncan McLean Marshall (September 24, 1872 – January 16, 1946) was a Canadian journalist, publisher, rancher and politician in the provinces of Ontario and Alberta. Marshall represented the electoral district of Olds in the Legislative Ass ...

709
51.94% , , George H. Cloakey
656
48.06% , , , , ,

, - , Peace River , , William A. Rae
437
45.57% , , ,

Alphaeus Patterson Alphaeus Patterson (March 15, 1856 – November 4, 1931) was a politician and businessman from Alberta, Canada. He was born in Kemptville, Ontario. Business Patterson founded a company with William Rae known as The Argonaut Company Ltd. in ...

475
49.53% , ,

William Bredin William Fletcher Bredin (1862 – 1942) was a Canadian pioneer businessman and politician. He intermittently farmed and operated businesses in the Canadian West and then served as MLA in the Alberta Legislature. Born in Stormont County, Ont ...

(Ind. Liberal)
47
4.90% , , , James K. Cornwall , - , Pembina , , , Gordon MacDonald
432
50.64% , , F.D. Armitage
421
49.36% , , , , , Henry William McKenney , - , Pincher Creek , , A.N. Mount
426
46.66% , , , John H.W.S. Kemmis
487
53.34% , , , , ,

David Warnock David Warnock, OBE (April 11, 1865 – August 23, 1932) was a politician and veterinarian from Alberta, Canada. He was educated at the Hamilton Academy, Lanarkshire, Scotland and at the West of Scotland Technical College (eventually becomin ...

, - , Ponoka , , , William A. Campbell
485
51.65% , , George Gordon
257
27.37% , , P. Baker
197
20.98% , , , William A. Campbell , - ,

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

, , Robert B. Welliver
786
42.44% , , , Edward Michener
869
46.92% , , George Patton
197
10.64% , , , Edward Michener , - , Redcliff , , , Charles S. Pingle
645
60.11% , , H.S. Gerow
428
39.89% , , , , ''New District'' , - ,

Ribstone Ribstone is a hamlet (place), hamlet in central Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District of Wainwright No. 61. It is located approximately south of Alberta Highway 14, Highway 14 and southwest of Lloydminster. History The community was ...

, , , James Gray Turgeon
669
55.56% , , William John Blair
535
44.44% , , , , ''New District'' , - ,

Rocky Mountain The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, , William B. Powell
516
19.60% , , ,

Robert E. Campbell Robert Erskine Campbell (August 13, 1884 – August 23, 1977) was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia, serving from 1925 to 1936. A monk of the Order of the Holy Cross The Order of the Holy Cross is an international Anglican monastic ...

1,099
41.74% , ,

(Socialist)
1,018
38.66% , , ,

, - , Sedgewick , , , Charles Stewart
889
70.56% , , W. Watson
371
29.44% , , , , , Charles Stewart , - , St. Albert , , , Lucien Boudreau
620
60.55% , , Hector L. Landry
404
39.45% , , , , , Lucien Boudreau , - , St. Paul , , , Prosper-Edmond Lessard
441
55.75% , , L. Garneau
350
44.25% , , , , ''New District'' , - , Stettler , , ,

Robert L. Shaw Robert L. Shaw (November 27, 1865 – January 22, 1930) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. Shaw was first elected to the Alberta Legislature in the 1909 Alberta general election. He defeated Conservative candidate J.K. Creighton in a la ...

928
45.65% , , George W. Morris
907
44.61% , , Malcolm McNeil
198
9.74% , , ,

, - , Stony Plain , , John A. McPherson
368
38.94% , , ,

Conrad Weidenhammer Conrad Weidenhammer (January 27, 1866 – January 19, 1919) was a farmer and provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1913 to 1917 sitting with the Conservative caucus. ...

577
61.06% , , , , , John A. McPherson , - , Sturgeon , , , John Robert Boyle
936
62.73% , , James Duncan Hyndman
556
37.27% , , , , , John Robert Boyle , - , Taber , , , Archibald J. McLean
1,231
68.16% , , William C. Ives
341
18.88% , , Thomas E. Smith (Socialist)
234
12.96% , , ''New District'' , - , Vegreville , , ,

Joseph S. McCallum Joseph Seeley McCallum (July 9, 1884 – July 22, 1945) was a Canadian politician from Alberta. Early life Joseph Seeley McCallum was born July 9, 1884 in Renfrew, Ontario to Angus McCallum and wife Jane Seeley. His family moved to Beaver Lake ...

812
45.72% , , F.A. Morrison
420
23.65% , , Peter Savarich
544
30.63% , , , James Bismark Holden , - ,

Vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It i ...

, , ,

772
47.68% , , J. George Clark
571
35.27% , , Gregory Krikevsky
276
17.05% , , , Archibald Campbell , - , Victoria , , , Francis A. Walker
773
62.49% , , R.A. Bennett
268
21.67% , , M. Gowda
196
15.84% , , , Francis A. Walker , - , Wainwright , , H.Y. Pawling
615
46.38% , , ,

George LeRoy Hudson George E. LeRoy Hudson (August 4, 1883 – January 14, 1952) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. Hudson was first elected to the Alberta Legislature in the 1913 Alberta general election, winning the new Wainwright electoral district for t ...

711
53.62% , , , , ''New District'' , - , Warner , , ,

Frank S. Leffingwell Frank Seth Leffingwell (November 16, 1868 – August 6, 1945) was a businessman, stone cutter, horse trader, real estate agent, officer of the law, as well as a municipal and provincial politician who was elected to public office in both the Un ...

314
43.67% , , W.H. Scott
137
19.05% , , William T. Patton
268
37.27% , , ''New District'' , - , Wetaskiwin , , ,

Charles H. Olin Charles Herman Olin (August 31, 1867 – October 4, 1914) was a Swedish-Canadian politician from Alberta. Olin was born in Westergothland, Sweden to Olof and Sharlotte Olin. Olin emigrated from Sweden to the Nebraska, United States in 1886 a ...

780
57.35% , , George B. Campbell
580
42.65% , , , , ,

, - , Whitford , , , Andrew S. Shandro
499
45.70% , , R.L. Hughson
133
12.18% , , Paul Rudyk (Ind.)
312
28.57%
C. F. Connolly (Ind.)
148
13.55% , , ''New District'' , -

References

Citations

Bibliography

*
Application by law clerk to stop election Edmonton Daily Bulletin 5 April 1913