Ponoka (provincial electoral district)

Ponoka was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1986.^[1]

Ponoka

Alberta electoral district
Defunct provincial electoral district
Legislature	Legislative Assembly of Alberta
District created	1905
District abolished	1986
First contested	1905
Last contested	1982

History

Ponoka was one of the original 25 electoral districts contested in the 1905 Alberta general election upon Alberta joining Confederation in September 1905. The district was redrawn frequently over the years but had remained largely a thin slice in central Alberta. The electoral district was named for the Town of Ponoka in central Alberta.

Ponoka was dissolved in the 1986 electoral district re-distribution to form the Ponoka-Rimbey electoral district.

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Ponoka
Assembly	Years	Member		Party
1st	1905–1909		John R. McLeod	Liberal
2nd	1909–1913		William A. Campbell
3rd	1913–1917
4th	1917–1921		Charles Orin Cunningham	Conservative
5th	1921–1921		Percival Baker	United Farmers
	1921–1926		John Edward Brownlee
6th	1926–1930
7th	1930–1935
8th	1935–1940		Edith Rogers	Social Credit
9th	1940–1944		Percy McKelvey	Independent
10th	1944–1948		Ora B. Moore	Social Credit
11th	1948–1952
12th	1952–1955		Glen F. Johnston
13th	1955–1959
14th	1959–1963
15th	1963–1967
16th	1967–1971		Neville S. Roper
17th	1971–1975		Donald J. McCrimmon	Progressive Conservative
18th	1975–1979
19th	1979–1982
20th	1982–1986		Halvar C. Jonson
See Ponoka-Rimbey electoral district from 1986-2004

Election results

1905

v t e 1905 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John R. McLeod	375	58.59%	–
	Conservative	John A. Jackson	265	41.41%	–
Total			640	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			640	N/A	–
	Liberal pickup new district.
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1905 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1909

v t e 1909 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William A. Campbell	466	67.05%	8.46%
	Conservative	John A. Jackson	229	32.95%	-8.46%
Total			695	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			1,026	67.74%	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		8.46%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1909 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1913

v t e 1913 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William A. Campbell	485	51.65%	-15.40%
	Conservative	George Gordon	257	27.37%	-5.58%
	Independent	Percival Baker	197	20.98%	–
Total			939	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		-4.91%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1913 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1917

v t e 1917 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Orin Cunningham	888	50.89%	23.52%
	Liberal	William A. Campbell	857	49.11%	-2.54%
Total			1,745	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		-11.25%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1917 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1921

v t e 1921 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Farmers	Percival Baker	1,391	63.06%	–
	Liberal	William A. Campbell	815	36.94%	-12.17%
Total			2,206	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	United Farmers gain from Conservative		Swing		12.17%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1921 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1921 by-election

v t e Alberta provincial by-election, December 9, 1921 Following the death of Percival Baker on July 19, 1921.
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Farmers	John Edward Brownlee	Acclaimed	–	–
Total			–	–	–
	United Farmers hold		Swing		–
Source(s) [2] Mardon 107

1926

v t e 1926 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Farmers	John Edward Brownlee	1,357	62.91%	-0.14%
	Liberal	Marcus Crandall	453	21.00%	-15.94%
	Conservative	Arthur Beaumont	347	16.09%	–
Total			2,157	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			3,207	67.26%	–
	United Farmers hold		Swing		7.90%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1926 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. See Mardon 107

1930

v t e 1930 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Farmers	John Edward Brownlee	Acclaimed	–	–
Total			N/A	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			N/A	N/A	–
	United Farmers hold		Swing		N/A
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1930 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. See Mardon 107

1935

v t e 1935 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Edith Rogers	2,295	59.30%	–
	United Farmers	John Edward Brownlee	879	22.71%	–
	Liberal	Robert McLaren	696	17.98%	–
Total			3,870	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			4,559	84.89%	–
	Social Credit gain from United Farmers		Swing		N/A
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1935 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1940

Percy McKelvey was a candidate for the People's League (Alberta).

v t e 1940 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
First count
	Independent	Percy A. McKelvey	1,920	43.62%	–
	Social Credit	Edith Rogers	1,907	43.32%	-15.98%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Charles Aldo Johnson	575	13.06%	–
Total			4,402	–	–
Ballot transfer results
	Independent	Percy A. McKelvey	2,234	52.21%	–
	Social Credit	Edith Rogers	2,045	47.79%	–
Total			4,279	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			121	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,053	74.72%	-10.17%
	Independent gain from Social Credit		Swing		N/A
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1944

v t e 1944 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Ora B. Moore	2,208	52.09%	8.47%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Ira D. Taylor	1,016	23.97%	10.91%
	Independent	Neil W. Nelson	778	18.35%	–
	Labor–Progressive	R. G. Calwell	237	5.59%	–
Total			4,239	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			107	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			5,964	72.87%	-1.83%
	Social Credit gain from Independent		Swing		12.90%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1944 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1948

v t e 1948 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Ora B. Moore	2,679	63.47%	11.38%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	A. D. Olsen	1,023	24.24%	0.27%
	Liberal	Robert McLaren	519	12.30%	–
Total			4,221	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			241	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,408	69.63%	-3.24%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		N/A
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1948 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1952

v t e 1952 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Glen F. Johnston	2,377	54.13%	-9.33%
	Liberal	Howard L. Larson	1,214	27.65%	15.35%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Carroll J. Wenaas	800	18.22%	-6.02%
Total			4,391	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			298	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,635	70.67%	1.04%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-6.37%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1952 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1955

v t e 1955 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
First count
	Social Credit	Glen F. Johnston	2,254	49.12%	-5.01%
	Liberal	Clinton Reed	1,323	28.83%	2.18%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	J. W. Lee	698	15.21%	-3.01%
	Conservative	W. E. Chiles	184	4.01%	–
	Independent	C. Kenyon	130	2.83%	–
Total			4,904	–	–
Ballot transfer results
	Social Credit	Glen F. Johnston	2,320	51.69%	–
	Liberal	Clinton Reed	1,417	31.57%	–
	Co-operative Commonwealth	J. W. Lee	751	16.73%	–
Total			4,488	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			315	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,876	71.32%	0.65%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		N/A
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1955 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1959

v t e 1959 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Glen F. Johnston	2,406	50.18%	1.06%
	Progressive Conservative	Ivor E. Davies	1,529	31.89%	–
	Liberal	Erwin E. Schultz	860	17.94%	-10.89%
Total			4,795	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			29	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			6,751	71.46%	0.14%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		N/A
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1959 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1963

v t e 1963 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Glen F. Johnston	1,830	44.90%	-5.28%
	Independent Social Credit	Neville S. Roper	1,721	42.22%	-7.95%
	Independent	George F. Sharp	525	12.88%	–
Total			4,076	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			31	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			7,563	54.30%	-17.15%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		-7.81%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1963 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1967

v t e 1967 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Neville S. Roper	3,286	62.42%	-24.70%
	New Democratic	Ed Nelson	1,464	27.81%	–
	Liberal	Derek R. Broughton	514	9.76%	–
Total			5,264	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			33	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			8,181	64.75%	10.44%
	Social Credit hold		Swing		15.97%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1967 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1971

v t e 1971 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Donald J. McCrimmon	2,712	44.12%	–
	Social Credit	Neville S. Roper	2,695	43.84%	-18.58%
	New Democratic	Ed Nelson	598	9.73%	-18.08%
	Liberal	Bernice Luce	142	2.31%	-7.45%
Total			6,147	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			22	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			8,426	73.21%	8.47%
	Progressive Conservative gain from Social Credit		Swing		-17.17%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1971 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1975

v t e 1975 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Donald J. McCrimmon	3,328	60.26%	16.14%
	Social Credit	Alvin Goetz	1,263	22.87%	-20.97%
	New Democratic	Boug Lier	932	16.87%	7.15%
Total			5,523	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			61	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			9,024	61.88%	-11.33%
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		18.56%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1975 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1979

v t e 1979 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Donald J. McCrimmon	3,317	50.53%	-9.73%
	Social Credit	Roy Kinley	1,856	28.27%	5.40%
	New Democratic	Bruce A. Beck	1,279	19.48%	2.61%
	Liberal	Gus Itzek	113	1.72%	–
Total			6,565	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			N/A	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			10,222	64.22%	2.34%
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-7.57%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1979 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

1982

v t e 1982 Alberta general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Halvar C. Jonson	4,031	50.76%	0.23%
	Western Canada Concept	Tom Butterfield	2,646	33.32%	–
	New Democratic	C.W. (Bill) Loov	876	11.03%	-8.45%
	Reform	Paul M. Bateman	235	2.96%	–
	Independent	Eric Ostergaard	154	1.94%	–
Total			7,942	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			16	–	–
Eligible electors / turnout			11,032	72.14%	7.91%
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-2.41%
Source(s) Source: "Ponoka Official Results 1982 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

Plebiscite results

1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Ponoka[3]
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	%
	No	1,500	53.96%
	Yes	1,280	46.04%
Total votes		2,780	100%
Rejected, spoiled and declined		53
6,317 eligible electors, turnout 44.88%

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 supposedly 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. Ponoka voted against the proposal by a comfortable margin. The voter turnout in the district was just slightly below 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 such as Ponoka 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]

See also

• List of Alberta provincial electoral districts
• Ponoka, Alberta, a town in central Alberta