# Taber (provincial electoral district)

Taber was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1913 to 1963.

## History

The Taber electoral district was formed prior to the 1913 Alberta general election from the south-eastern portion of the Lethbridge District.
The Taber electoral district would be abolished prior to the 1963 Alberta general election, and the territory would be split between the Taber-Warner and Little Bow electoral districts.

### Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Taber :
| Assembly | Years | Member | Party |
| See Lethbridge District from 1909-1913 |||||
| 3rd | 1913–1917 | Archibald J. McLean | Liberal |
| 4th | 1917–1921 | Archibald J. McLean | Liberal |
| 5th | 1921–1926 | Lawrence Peterson | United Farmers |
| 6th | 1926–1930 | Lawrence Peterson | United Farmers |
| 7th | 1930–1935 | James Hanson | Social Credit |
| 8th | 1935–1940 | Roy S. Lee | Social Credit |
| 9th | 1940–1944 | Roy S. Lee | Social Credit |
| 10th | 1944–1948 | Roy S. Lee | Social Credit |
| 11th | 1948–1952 | Roy S. Lee | Social Credit |
| 12th | 1952–1955 | Roy S. Lee | Social Credit |
| 13th | 1955–1959 | Roy S. Lee | Social Credit |
| 14th | 1959–1963 | Roy S. Lee | Social Credit |
| See Taber-Warner electoral district from 1963-1997 and Little Bow electoral district from 1963-2019 |||||

## Election results
### 1913

vte1913 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Archibald J. McLean | 1,231 | 68.16% | – |
| | Conservative | William Carlos Ives | 341 | 18.88% | – |
| | Socialist | Thomas E. Smith | 234 | 12.96% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 1,806 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | N/A | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 3,341 | 54.06% | – |
| | Liberal pickup new district. | Liberal pickup new district. | Liberal pickup new district. | Liberal pickup new district. | Liberal pickup new district. | Liberal pickup new district. | Liberal pickup new district. |
| Source(s) Source: "Taber Official Results 1913 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1917

vte1917 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Archibald J. McLean | 1,804 | 63.75% | -4.42% |
| | Conservative | Thomas O. King | 1,026 | 36.25% | 17.37% |
| Total | Total | Total | 2,830 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | N/A | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 4,965 | 57.00% | 2.94% |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | -10.89% |
| Source(s) Source: "Taber Official Results 1917 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1921

vte1921 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Farmers | Lawrence Peterson | 2,309 | 53.70% | – |
| | Liberal | Archibald J. McLean | 1,991 | 46.30% | -17.44% |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,300 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | N/A | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,638 | 76.27% | 19.27% |
| | United Farmers gain from Liberal | United Farmers gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | -10.05% |
| Source(s) Source: "Taber Official Results 1921 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1926

vte1926 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Farmers | Lawrence Peterson | 1,929 | 60.49% | 6.79% |
| | Liberal | J. J. Horrigan | 709 | 22.23% | -24.07% |
| | Conservative | J. H. Prowse | 551 | 17.28% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,189 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 173 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,138 | 65.43% | -10.83% |
| | United Farmers hold | United Farmers hold | Swing | Swing | 15.43% |
| Source(s) Source: "Taber Official Results 1926 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1930

vte1930 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Farmers | John J. MacLellan | 1,848 | 54.93% | -5.55% |
| | Independent | J. E. Evanson | 1,516 | 45.07% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,364 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 122 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 4,829 | 72.19% | 6.75% |
| | United Farmers hold | United Farmers hold | Swing | Swing | -14.19% |
| Source(s) Source: "Taber Official Results 1930 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1935

vte1935 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | James Hanson | 2,879 | 67.30% | – |
| | United Farmers | John J. MacLellan | 757 | 17.70% | -37.24% |
| | Liberal | B. L. Cooke | 642 | 15.01% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,278 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 176 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,589 | 79.69% | 7.50% |
| | Social Credit gain from United Farmers | Social Credit gain from United Farmers | Swing | Swing | 19.87% |
| Source(s) Source: "Taber Official Results 1935 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1940

vte1940 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes 1st count | % | Votes final count | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Roy S. Lee | 1,879 | 48.96% | 1,998 | -18.34% |
| | Independent | J. L. Nelson | 1,383 | 36.03% | 1,618 | – |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | W. W. Scott | 576 | 15.01% | – | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,838 | – | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 204 | – | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,050 | 80.04% | 0.35% | – |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -18.34% |
| Source(s) Source: "Taber 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 | Roy S. Lee | 2,490 | 69.51% | 20.56% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | Leo Hinds | 679 | 18.96% | 3.95% |
| | Liberal | E. N. Davidson | 413 | 11.53% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,582 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 130 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,028 | 73.83% | -6.21% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 18.82% |
| Source(s) Source: "Taber Official Results 1944 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1948

vte1948 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Roy S. Lee | 2,559 | 72.64% | 3.12% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | Guy F. Harris | 501 | 14.22% | -4.74% |
| | Liberal | Richard L. Higgins | 463 | 13.14% | 1.61% |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,523 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 442 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,333 | 62.61% | -11.22% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 3.93% |
| Source(s) Source: "Taber Official Results 1948 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1952

vte1952 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Roy S. Lee | 2,809 | 79.67% | 7.03% |
| | Liberal | Harold Wood | 717 | 20.33% | 7.19% |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,526 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 279 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,566 | 57.95% | -4.66% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 0.46% |
| Source(s) Source: "Taber Official Results 1952 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1955

vte1955 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Roy S. Lee | 2,788 | 61.02% | -18.65% |
| | Liberal | Fred M. Pritchard | 1,186 | 25.96% | 5.62% |
| | Independent Social Credit | Ben Platt | 595 | 13.02% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,569 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 238 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 7,070 | 67.99% | 10.04% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -12.13% |
| Source(s) Source: "Taber Official Results 1955 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1959

vte1959 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Roy S. Lee | 3,678 | 78.01% | 16.99% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Leslie P. Cluff | 1,037 | 21.99% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,715 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 22 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 7,518 | 63.01% | -4.98% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 10.48% |
| Source(s) Source: "Taber Official Results 1959 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

## Plebiscite results
### 1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Taber :
| 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 | 1,923 | 67.14% |
| | Yes | 941 | 32.86% |
| Total votes | Total votes | 2,864 | 100% |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 35 | 35 |
| 6,627 eligible electors, turnout 43.75% ||||
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. Taber strongly voted against the proposal. The voter turnout in the district was light, and fell below 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 Taber 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.