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. 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 First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

voting system with the exception of the

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

district which returned two members under a plurality block vote. The election was unusual with the writ period for the general election being a very short period of 23 days. Premier Arthur Sifton led the

Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party () is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest active political party in Alberta and was the dominant political party until the 1921 election, with the first three provincial ...

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 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. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

. 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 MLAs in the province by 15. Calgary was divided into two single-member districts; Edmonton continued as two-member district. The single-member districts did not contain equal population, with one riding Clearwater, north of Edmonton, only containing 74 people enumerated. Calgary Centre was the largest population wise with 20,000 people enumerated. The bill drew districts so that a line at the centre of the province's population (about in line with Red Deer), gave 30 seats to the people of the north half with 26 seats to the southern half. (The bill drew districts so that a line at the centre of the province (about in line with Edmonton), gave 19 seats to the north half of the province, up from the previous 13, with 37 seats in the south half, nine more than previously.) 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.

Electoral system

First-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

was used in the single-member districts. In

the seats were filled through

Plurality block voting Plurality block voting is a type of block voting method for multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The usual result when the candidates div ...

, where each voter could cast two votes. (Unusually for block voting, in Edmonton, candidates of two different parties were elected. Usually block voting produces a one-party sweep of a district's seats, as had been done in Edmonton in 1909 and was the case in Edmonton in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

Results

The final result was the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, under its new leader, Arthur L. Sifton, won a third term in office, defeating the Conservative Party, which was once again led by Edward Michener. Liberal party candidates took 49 percent of the vote and with the election of 38 members, the party took 68 percent of the seats in the Legislature. The votes were split almost evenly between the Conservatives and Liberals with a difference of 4 percent separating the two parties. The opposition Conservatives received a larger proportion of the votes than it had done in 1909 (45 percent versus 32 in 1909) and increased its seat count to 17 from 2, while the Liberals again got more votes than any other party and won many of the new seats, allowing them to hang onto a majority of seats in the legislative assembly. In the Rocky Mountain constituency, the Socialist vote doubled but the vote for the Conservative candidate went up even more, to make that candidate the winner, and the Socialist Party lost its only seat in the Assembly. Oddly, the Assembly elected in 1913 never had its full complement of MLAs, as C.W. Cross was elected to two seats (one in Edmonton and the Edson seat). When this happened elsewhere, such as in 1896, when Laurier was elected as MP in both the riding of Saskatchewan, North-West Territories (including part of what would be Alberta) (the provisional district of Saskatchewan) and a seat in Quebec, the double winner resigned one of the seats. But in Alberta from 1913 to 1917, Cross held both seats.

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 Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

, , , John A. McColl
637
56.27% , , W.D. Bentley
495
43.73% , , , , ''New District'' , - ,

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

, , N.C. Lyster
470
40.69% , , , James R. Lowery
478
41.39% , , W.H. Anderson
207
17.92% , , ,

Alwyn Bramley-Moore Alywn Bramley-Moore (July 3, 1878 – April 4, 1916) was a provincial politician, author and soldier from Alberta, Canada. He served as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1909 to 1913, as part of the governing Libe ...

, - , Athabasca , , , Alexander Grant MacKay
5,327
838.90% , , J.H. Wood
221
34.80% , , , , , Jean Léon Côté , - , Beaver River , , , Wilfrid Gariepy
457
61.67% , , A. Grey
284
38.33% , , , , ''New District'' , - , Bow Valley , , , George Lane
396
61.78% , , Harold William Hounsfield Riley
245
38.22% , , , , ''New District'' , - , Centre Calgary , , John Chantler McDougall
728
31.76% , , , Thomas M.M. Tweedie
1,564
68.24% , , , , , ''New District from

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

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

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

822
32.11% , , , Samuel Bacon Hillocks
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
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 , , , Charles Wellington Fisher
475
55.56% , , H.F. Jarrett
380
44.44% , , , , , Charles Wellington Fisher , - ,

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, , , Frank H. Whiteside
739
51.61% , , William Wallace Wilson
693
48.39% , , , , ''New District'' , - ,

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburb of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of ...

, , , 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 (Temperance)Edmonton Bulletin, April 29, 1913
643
3.13% , , , Charles Wilson Cross , - , , Alexander Grant MacKay
4,913
23.89% , , , Albert Freeman Ewing
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
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
526
49.58% , , , Frederick William Archer
535
50.42% , , , , , John A. Simpson , - , Lac Ste. Anne , , ,

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American detective fiction, private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens (actor), Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, lounge singer Edie Hart. The series was broadcast by NBC from Sept ...

517
52.17% , , George R. Barker
474
47.83% , , , , ,

, - , Lacombe , , , 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
1,371
51.04% , , Joseph R. Knight (Socialist)
282
10.50% , , , John S. Stewart , - , 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 , , Arthur L. Sifton
560
49.17% , , , Robert Patterson
579
50.83% , , , , , Robert Patterson , - ,

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, 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, Alberta, R ...

, , Charles Richmond Mitchell
1,823
49.73% , , , Nelson C. Spencer
1,843
50.27% , , , , , William Thomas Finlay , - , Nanton , , , John M. Glendenning
463
59.51% , , J.T. Cooper
315
40.49% , , , , , John M. Glendenning , - ,

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

, , John A. Turner
380
39.01% , , , George Hoadley
594
60.99% , , , , , George Hoadley , - , Olds , , , Duncan Marshall
709
51.94% , , George H. Cloakey
656
48.06% , , , , , Duncan Marshall , - , Peace River , , William A. Rae
437
45.57% , , , Alphaeus Patterson
475
49.53% , , William Bredin (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 , - , 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 (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

, , 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 , , , 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
1,099
41.74% , , Charles M. O'Brien (Socialist)
1,018
38.66% , , , Charles M. O'Brien , - , 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
928
45.65% , , George W. Morris
907
44.61% , , Malcolm McNeil
198
9.74% , , , Robert L. Shaw , - , Stony Plain , , John A. McPherson
368
38.94% , , , Conrad Weidenhammer
577
61.06% , , , , , John A. McPherson , - ,

Sturgeon Sturgeon (from Old English ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''str̥(Hx)yón''-) is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the ...

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

Vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide). It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a moder ...

, , , Arthur L. Sifton
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
711
53.62% , , , , ''New District'' , - , Warner , , , Frank S. Leffingwell
314
43.67% , , W.H. Scott
137
19.05% , , William T. Patton
268
37.27% , , ''New District'' , - ,

Wetaskiwin Wetaskiwin ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. The city is located south of the provincial capital of Edmonton. The city name comes from the Cree word , meaning "the hills where peace was made". Wetaskiwin is home to the Reyn ...

, , , Charles H. Olin
780
57.35% , , George B. Campbell
580
42.65% , , , , , Charles H. Olin , - , 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