The 1917 Alberta general election was held on 7 June 1917 to elect members of 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 Liberals won a fourth term in office, defeating the Conservative Party of Edward Michener. Because of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, eleven

Members of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nationa ...

(MLAs) were re-elected by acclamation, under Section 38 of the ''Election Act'', which stipulated that any member of the 3rd Alberta Legislative Assembly, would be guaranteed re-election, with no contest held, if members joined for war time service. Eleven MLAs were automatically re-elected through this clause. (None were re-elected in the next election.) In addition, soldiers and nurses from

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

serving in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

elected two MLAs. Two extra seats were thus added just for this election. The MLAs were non-partisan officially. But both Robert Pearson and Roberta MacAdams allied themselves to Labour and Non-Partisan League MLAs by showing social consciousness in regards the conditions available for returned soldiers and working families. These two members were elected in one contest using

block voting Block or bloc voting refers to a class of electoral systems where multiple candidates are elected simultaneously. They do not guarantee minority representation and allow a group of voters (a voting bloc) to ensure that only their preferred candi ...

, while each other MLA was elected through

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 ...

in a single-member district. In 1917, the main issue facing the nation was

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

. In Alberta, where support for conscription was high, the incumbent Liberal government of Arthur Sifton decided to break with federal Liberal leader

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...

and support Conservative Prime Minister

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942), Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known ...

's efforts to form a coalition government. The two major parties both supported conscription, but growing labour and farmer activism, and the entry of women into politics, both as voters and candidates, made the election exciting enough that 30,000 more votes were cast than in the previous election (although they were nothing like the high numbers that would be cast in the 1921 election). This was the last time Liberals won an Alberta provincial election. The 1917 election stood for 106 years as the tightest seat majority elected in Alberta, with the combined opposition MLAs equaling 41% of the total MLAs, a mark not exceeded until

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. Due to the election system used in Alberta, the Liberal vote total of 48 percent was enough to take a majority of seats in the Alberta Legislature. That winning vote share was a record low figure until

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, which was in turn beaten in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

. Premier Sifton resigned in October 1917 in order to serve in the federal Unionist government of Prime Minister Borden and was replaced by Charles Stewart. This was the first election in Alberta that women (those who were British subjects or Canadian citizens more than 20 years of age who were not Treaty Indian) had the right to vote and run. Two women were elected in the legislature that year. One of these was Roberta MacAdams, elected as one of two representatives of soldiers and nurses serving in the war. The other,

Louise McKinney Louise McKinney (; 22 September 186810 July 1931) was a Canadian politician, Temperance movement, temperance advocate, and women's rights activist. She was the first woman elected into the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the first woman to ...

, was elected as a candidate of the Non-Partisan League. Her election and the election of fellow NPL candidate James Weir were harbingers of the rise of farmer politics that would see the election of the UFA government in 1921. The Alberta Labor Representation League, which opposed conscription, elected one member in Calgary,

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book creator, comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which ...

. The vote in the Athabasca district was conducted on 27 June 1917 due to the remoteness of the riding.

Electoral system

All but two of the MLAs elected in this election were elected through

. Alberta had used multiple-member districts in Edmonton and Calgary previously, but for this election they had been split into single-member districts. The two overseas army members were elected 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 ...

.A Report on Alberta Elections

Results

Notes

Members of the Legislative Assembly

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
1,842
48.22% , , E. Gordon Jonah
1,229
32.17% , , Lorne Proudfoot
749
19.61% , , , John A. McColl , - ,

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 , ; ...

, , , , , James R. Lowery
''Acclaimed'' , , , , , James R. Lowery , - , Athabasca , , , Alexander Grant MacKay
752
65.79% , , Alfred F. Fugl
391
34.21% , , , , , Alexander Grant MacKay , - , Beaver River , , , Wilfrid Gariepy
1,134
64.07% , , Ambrose E. Gray
636
35.93% , , , , , Wilfrid Gariepy , - , Bow Valley , , , Charles Richmond Mitchell
604
58.13% , , Edmund F. Purcell
435
41.87% , , , , , George Lane , - , Centre Calgary , , , , Thomas M.M. Tweedie
1,273
48.94% , , ,

1,328
51.06% , , , Thomas M.M. Tweedie , - , North Calgary , , , William McCartney Davidson
2,701
54.72% , , Samuel Bacon Hillocks
2,235
45.28% , , , , , Samuel Bacon Hillocks , - , South Calgary , , , , , Thomas H. Blow
3,273
48.01% , , William Irvine (Labour-Rep.)
2,248
32.98%
John McNeill
1,296
19.01% , , , Thomas H. Blow , - , Camrose , , , George P. Smith
2,258
65.22% , , Frank P. Layton
1,204
34.78% , , , , , George P. Smith , - , Cardston , , , Martin Woolf
972
56.38% , , W.G. Smith
752
43.62% , , , , , Martin Woolf , - , Claresholm , , William Moffat
670
44.40% , , , , ,

839
55.60% , , , William Moffat , - , Clearwater , , , Joseph E. State
188
64.38% , , Robert Neville Frith
104
35.62% , , , , , Henry William McKenney , - , Cochrane , , , Charles Wellington Fisher
630
57.32% , , H.E.G.H. Scholefield
469
42.68% , , , , , Charles Wellington Fisher , - ,

Coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

, , Harry S. Northwood
1,575
46.92% , , , William Wallace Wilson
1,782
53.08% , , , , , Frank H. Whiteside , - ,

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 ...

, , , Henry B. Atkins
1,394
52.80% , , Wilbur Leslie Tolton
1,246
47.20% , , , , , Joseph E. Stauffer , - , Edmonton East , , Fredrick Duncan
2,553
37.86% , , , James Ramsey
3,035
45.00% , , Joseph A. Clarke
811
12.03%
Sydney R. Keeling (Socialist)
345
5.12% , , ''New District from

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 ...

'' , - , Edmonton-South , , Robert Blyth Douglas
2,178
44.10% , , , Herbert Howard Crawford
2,761
55.90% , , , , , Herbert Howard Crawford , - , Edmonton West , , William Thomas Henry
2,884
43.30% , , , Albert Freeman Ewing
3,776
56.70% , , , , ''New District from

'' , - , Edson , , , Charles Wilson Cross
1,116
62.91% , , J.R. McIntosh
455
25.65% , , John Reid (Socialist)
203
11.44% , , , Charles Wilson Cross , - , Gleichen , , John P. McArthur
712
39.96% , , , Fred Davis
762
42.76% , , John W. Leedy
308
17.28% , , , John P. McArthur , - , Grouard , , , Jean Léon Côté
688
70.71% , , Eugene Gravel
285
29.29% , , , , , Jean Léon Côté , - , Hand Hills , , , Robert Berry Eaton
''Acclaimed'' , , , , , , , Robert Berry Eaton , - , High River , , Dan F. Riley
885
48.95% , , , George Douglas Stanley
923
51.05% , , , , , George Douglas Stanley , - , Innisfail , , , Daniel J. Morkeberg
905
51.33% , , Frederick William Archer
766
43.45% , , James K. Wilson
92
5.22% , , , Frederick William Archer , - , Lac Ste. Anne , , Ralph E. Barker
766
48.91% , , , George R. Barker
800
51.09% , , , , ,

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 ...

, - , Lacombe , , William Franklin Puffer
1,333
48.37% , , , Andrew Gilmour
1,423
51.63% , , , , , William Franklin Puffer , - , Leduc , , , Stanley G. Tobin
1,707
73.67% , , George Currie
610
26.33% , , , , , Stanley G. Tobin , - , Lethbridge City , , , , , John S. Stewart
''Acclaimed'' , , , , , John S. Stewart , - , Little Bow , , , James McNaughton
808
77.39% , , , , , , , James McNaughton , - , Macleod , , , George Skelding
728
51.78% , , Robert Patterson
678
48.22% , , , , , 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 ...

, , , , , Nelson C. Spencer
''Acclaimed'' , , , , , Nelson C. Spencer , - , Nanton , , John M. Glendenning
415
32.88% , , J.T. Cooper
408
32.33% , , , James Weir
439
34.79% , , , John M. Glendenning , - , Okotoks , , Angus McIntosh
535
40.50% , , , George Hoadley
786
59.50% , , , , , George Hoadley , - , Olds , , , Duncan Marshall
1,283
56.35% , , George H. Cloakey
994
43.65% , , , , , Duncan Marshall , - , Peace River , , , William A. Rae
1,994
62.92% , , D.H. Minchin
712
22.47% , , L. Harry Adair
463
14.61% , , , Alphaeus Patterson , - , Pembina , , , Gordon MacDonald
''Acclaimed'' , , , , , , , Gordon MacDonald , - , Pincher Creek , , Thomas Hammond
448
32.94% , , , John H.W.S. Kemmis
496
36.47% , , J. E. Hillier (Non-partisan)
416
30.59% , , , John H.W.S. Kemmis , - , Ponoka , , William A. Campbell
857
49.11% , , , Charles Orin Cunningham
888
50.89% , , , , , 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
1,272
44.87% , , , Edward Michener
1,295
45.68% , , George Paton
268
9.45% , , , Edward Michener , - , Redcliff , , , Charles S. Pingle
''Acclaimed'' , , , , , , , Charles S. Pingle , - , Ribstone , , , James Gray Turgeon
''Acclaimed'' , , , , , , , James Gray Turgeon , - , Rocky Mountain , , , , , Robert E. Campbell
''Acclaimed'' , , , , , Robert E. Campbell , - , Sedgewick , , , Charles Stewart
1,657
63.05% , , John Reeve Lavell
971
36.95% , , , , , Charles Stewart , - , St. Albert , , , Lucien Boudreau
1,095
59.61% , , Hector L. Landry
742
40.39% , , , , , Lucien Boudreau , - , St. Paul , , , Prosper-Edmond Lessard
1,077
66.65% , , James Brady
539
33.35% , , , , , Prosper-Edmond Lessard , - , Stettler , , , Edward H. Prudden
1,408
39.45% , , George McMorris
1,375
38.53% , , J.R. Knight
786
22.02% , , , Robert L. Shaw , - , Stony Plain , , Frank A. Smith
705
48.65% , , , Frederick W. Lundy
744
51.35% , , , , , Conrad Weidenhammer , - ,

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
1,546
47.19% , , James Sutherland
1,212
37.00% , , H. Mickleson
518
15.81% , , , John Robert Boyle , - , Taber , , , Archibald J. McLean
1,804
63.75% , , Thomas O. King
1,026
36.25% , , , , , Archibald J. McLean , - , Vegreville , , , Joseph S. McCallum
1,864
59.12% , , Malcolm R. Gordon
1,289
40.88% , , , , , Joseph S. McCallum , - ,

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
2,063
63.03% , , John B. Burch
1,210
36.97% , , , , , Arthur L. Sifton , - , Victoria , , , Francis A. Walker
''Acclaimed'' , , , , , , , Francis A. Walker , - , Wainwright , , , , , George LeRoy Hudson
''Acclaimed'' , , , , , George LeRoy Hudson , - , Warner , , , Frank S. Leffingwell
706
64.89% , , Hy. James Tennant
382
35.11% , , , , , Frank S. Leffingwell , - ,

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 ...

, , , Hugh John Montgomery
1,500
68.71% , , Robert MacLachlan Angus
683
31.29% , , , , , Charles H. Olin , - , Whitford , , , Andrew S. Shandro
''Acclaimed'' , , , , , , , Andrew S. Shandro , -

Members acclaimed under Section 38

Eleven Liberal and Conservative MLAs serving in the army were allowed to retain their seats without election.

1917 soldiers' and nurses' vote

Two extra seats were added for this election. Two MLAs were elected to represent the soldiers and nurses serving overseas. They were elected through plurality block voting, with each soldier and nurse having two votes. Roberta MacAdams, the sole woman in the race, capitalized on the two-vote system by instructing the soldiers to "give one vote to the man of your choice and the other vote to the Sister" (herself). She was successful, becoming the second woman elected in Alberta and in the whole of the British Empire. Candidates and voters were Albertans who were enlisted for overseas military, naval or nursing service. The MLAs sat on the opposition benches. They were non-partisan officially, although both Robert Pearson and Roberta MacAdams allied themselves to Labour and NPL MLAs by showing social consciousness in regards the conditions available for returned soldiers and working families. The vote was held on 18 September 1917.

Electoral system

Results

Members of the Legislative Assembly

Members acclaimed under Section 38

1917 soldiers' and nurses' vote

See also

References

Further reading