# Bruce (Alberta provincial electoral district)

Bruce was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1940 to 1963.

## History

The Bruce electoral district was formed from the Vegreville, Sedgewick, Camrose electoral districts prior to the 1940 Alberta general election. The Acadia electoral district would be abolished and the Vermilion and Vegreville-Bruce electoral districts would be formed in its place prior to the 1963 Alberta general election.

### Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Bruce :
| Assembly | Years | Member | Party |
| See Vegreville electoral district from 1909-1940 Sedgewickelectoral district from 1909-1940 and Camrose electoral district from 1909-1940 |||||
| 9th | 1940–1944 | James L. McPherson | Social Credit |
| 10th | 1944–1948 | James L. McPherson | Social Credit |
| 11th | 1948–1952 | Earl M. Hardy | Social Credit |
| 12th | 1952–1955 | Earl M. Hardy | Social Credit |
| 13th | 1955–1959 | Earl M. Hardy | Social Credit |
| 14th | 1959–1963 | Earl M. Hardy | Social Credit |
| See Vermilion electoral district from 1963-1971 and Vegreville-Bruce electoral district from 1963-1971 |||||

## Election results
### 1940

vte1940 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| First count ||||||
| | Social Credit | James L. McPherson | 2,018 | 48.01% | – |
| | Independent | B. C. Gilpin | 1,433 | 34.09% | – |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | E. A. Moen | 752 | 9.19% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,203 | – | – |
| Ballot transfer results ||||||
| | Social Credit | James L. McPherson | 2,203 | 55.30% | – |
| | Independent | B. C. Gilpin | 1,781 | 44.70% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,984 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 122 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,027 | 71.76% | – |
| | Social Credit pickup new district. | Social Credit pickup new district. | Social Credit pickup new district. | Social Credit pickup new district. | Social Credit pickup new district. | Social Credit pickup new district. | Social Credit pickup new district. |
| Source(s) Source: "Bruce Official Results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.Instant-runoff voting requires a candidate to receive a plurality (greater than 50%) of the votes. As no candidate received a plurality of votes, the bottom candidate was eliminated and their 2nd place votes were applied to both other candidates until one received a plurality |||||||

### 1944

vte1944 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | James L. McPherson | 2,024 | 53.76% | -5.75% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | S. Lefsrud | 1,274 | 33.84% | 24.65% |
| | Independent | B. C. Gilpin | 467 | 12.40% | -21.69% |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,765 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 97 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,745 | 67.22% | -4.54% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 9.96% |
| Source(s) Source: "Bruce Official Results 1944 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1948

vte1948 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Earl M. Hardy | 2,248 | 57.01% | 3.25% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | Beauchamp B. Starky | 1,080 | 27.39% | -6.45% |
| | Liberal | Alfred Lefsrud | 615 | 15.60% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,943 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 191 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,456 | 64.03% | -3.19% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 4.85% |
| Source(s) Source: "Bruce Official Results 1948 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1952

vte1952 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Earl M. Hardy | 2,157 | 52.32% | -4.70% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | Sigurd Lefsrud | 1,210 | 29.35% | 1.96% |
| | Liberal | Edwin F. Watson | 756 | 18.34% | 2.74% |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,123 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 278 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,478 | 67.94% | 3.90% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -3.33% |
| Source(s) Source: "Bruce Official Results 1952 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1955

vte1955 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| First count ||||||
| | Social Credit | Earl M. Hardy | 1,978 | 43.27% | -8.95% |
| | Liberal | Clare M. Liden | 1,525 | 33.36% | 15.04% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | Nancy Zaseybida | 998 | 16.85% | -12.50% |
| | Conservative | Oliver H. Gunderson | 70 | 1.18% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,571 | – | – |
| Ballot transfer results ||||||
| | Social Credit | Earl M. Hardy | 2,105 | 50.87% | – |
| | Liberal | Clare M. Liden | 2,033 | 49.13% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,138 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 261 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,507 | 74.26% | 6.32% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -5.00% |
| Source(s) Source: "Bruce Official Results 1955 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1959

vte1959 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Earl M. Hardy | 2,324 | 55.22% | -39.72% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Clifford G. Patterson | 833 | 19.79% | – |
| | Liberal | Clare L. Liden | 534 | 12.69% | -56.31% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | Edward I. Thompson | 518 | 12.31% | -4.55% |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,209 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 8 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,441 | 65.47% | -8.79% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 11.23% |
| Source(s) Source: "Bruce Official Results 1959 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

## Plebiscite results
### 1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Bruce :
| 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 | Ballot choice | Votes | % |
| | No | 1,691 | 63.31% |
| | Yes | 980 | 36.69% |
| Total votes | Total votes | 2,671 | 100% |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 21 | 21 |
| 6,108 eligible electors, turnout 44.07% ||||
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.
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 women should be allowed to drink together in establishments.
Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Bruce voted against the proposal by an overwhelming margin. The voter turnout in the district was almost equal to the province wide average of 46%.
Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957. The Social Credit government in power at the time did not consider the results binding. However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.
Municipal districts lying inside electoral districts that voted against the plebiscite such as Bruce were designated Local Option Zones by the Alberta Liquor Control Board and considered effective dry zones. Business owners who wanted a license had to petition for a binding municipal plebiscite in order to be granted a license.