# Spirit River (electoral district)

Spirit River was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1940 to 1971.

## History
### Boundary history

Spirit River was created out of the northern half of the Grande Prairie district for the 1940 election. It contained the towns of Spirit River and Rycroft, and the Peace River formed its northern boundary. It saw no major boundary changes until it was replaced by Spirit River-Fairview, Grande Prairie and Smoky River in 1971.

### Representation history

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Spirit River :
| Assembly | Years | Member | Party |
| See Grande Prairie 1930-1940 |||||
| 9th | 1940 - 1944 | Henry DeBolt | Social Credit |
| 10th | 1944 - 1948 | Henry DeBolt | Social Credit |
| 11th | 1948 - 1952 | Henry DeBolt | Social Credit |
| 12th | 1952 - 1955 | Adolph Fimrite | Social Credit |
| 13th | 1955 - 1959 | Adolph Fimrite | Social Credit |
| 14th | 1959 - 1963 | Adolph Fimrite | Social Credit |
| 15th | 1963 - 1967 | Adolph Fimrite | Social Credit |
| 16th | 1967 - 1971 | Adolph Fimrite | Social Credit |
| See Spirit River-Fairview 1971-1986, Grande Prairie 1971-1993, and Smoky River 1971-1993 |||||
In the 1940 election, Spirit River was picked up by Social Credit candidate Henry DeBolt (for whom the community DeBolt was named). This is despite the fact that the incumbent Social Credit MLA for the area, William Sharpe, was defeated in what remained of the Grande Prairie district by an independent challenger. DeBolt served as MLA for twelve years, but lost the Social Credit nomination for the 1952 election to Adolph Fimrite. He attempted to defend his seat as an independent candidate, but finished last in a field of four candidates.
Fimrite, who won on the second count in 1952, defended the seat until it was abolished in 1971. The last election in this district saw a surge in support for the New Democrats, foreshadowing party leader Grant Notley's 1971 victory over Fimrite in Spirit River-Fairview, which absorbed most of Spirit River.

## Election results
### 1940s

1940 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Henry DeBolt | 1,409 | 43.12% | - |
| | Independent Movement | G.H. McDonald | 1,087 | 33.26% | - |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | E.T. Sather | 772 | 23.62% | - |
| Second count ||||||
| | Social Credit | Henry DeBolt | 1,707 | 56.86% | +13.74% |
| | Independent Movement | G.H. McDonald | 1,295 | 43.14% | +9.88% |
| | No second preference | No second preference | 266 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 3,268 |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 188 |
| Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | 5,455 | 63.35% | - |
| | 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. |
Final count swing reflects increase in vote share from the first count.
1944 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Henry DeBolt | 1,984 | 57.27% | +14.15% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | E.T. Sather | 1,178 | 34.01% | +10.39% |
| | Labor–Progressive | Eric Johnson | 302 | 8.72% |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 3,464 |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 144 |
| Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | 5,592 | 64.52% | +1.17% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | +1.88% |
1948 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Henry DeBolt | 2,155 | 54.10% | -3.17% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | Uri Powell | 1,194 | 29.98% | -4.03% |
| | Liberal | David Keay | 631 | 15.84% |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 3,983 |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 282 |
| Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | 6,190 | 68.90% | +4.38% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | +0.43% |

### 1950s

1952 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Adolph Fimrite | 1,738 | 39.76% | -14.34% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | R. Graeme Thomlinson | 1,222 | 27.96% | -2.02% |
| | Liberal | Edmund Harrington | 861 | 19.70% | +3.86% |
| | Independent Social Credit | Henry DeBolt | 550 | 12.58% |
| Final count ||||||
| | Social Credit | Adolph Fimrite | 2,041 | 59.01% | +21.25% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | R. Graeme Thomlinson | 1,418 | 40.99% | +13.03% |
| | No second/third preference | No second/third preference | 912 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 4,371 |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 377 |
| Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | 7,158 | 66.33% | -2.57% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -6.16% |
1955 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Adolph Fimrite | 2,369 | 51.22% | +11.46% |
| | Liberal | Ed Harrington | 1,306 | 28.24% | +8.54% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | R. Graeme Thomlinson | 950 | 20.54% | -7.42% |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 4,625 |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 332 |
| Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | 6,781 | 73.10% | +6.77% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | +1.46% |
In 1959, Alberta abandoned instant runoff voting in rural districts, instead electing MLAs by the first past the post method. This change is evident in the dramatic drop in spoiled (incorrectly marked) ballots.
1959 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Adolph Fimrite | 3,010 | 63.77% | +12.55 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Charles Stojan | 1,059 | 22.44% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | James Graham | 593 | 12.56% | -7.98% |
| | Independent Social Credit | C.J. Lampert | 58 | 1.23% |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 4,720 |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 7 |
| Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | 7,158 | 66.33% | -6.77% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -4.95% |

### 1960s

1963 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Adolph Fimrite | 3,077 | 69.80% | +6.03% |
| | New Democratic | Uri Powell | 948 | 21.51% | +8.95% |
| | Liberal | Lionel Lizee | 383 | 8.69% |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 4,408 |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 5 |
| Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | 6,478 | 68.12% | +1.79% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -1.46% |
1967 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Adolph Fimrite | 2,627 | 56.20% | -13.60% |
| | New Democratic | Bert Strand | 1,634 | 34.96% | +13.45% |
| | Liberal | John Listhaeghe | 413 | 8.84% | +0.15% |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 4,674 |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 7 |
| Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | Electors / turnout | 6,382 | 73.35% | +5.23% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -13.53% |

## Plebiscite results
### 1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Spirit River :
| 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 | % |
| | Yes | 762 | 53.81% |
| | No | 654 | 46.19% |
| Total votes | Total votes | 1,416 | 100% |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 29 | 29 |
| 6,160 eligible electors, turnout 23.46% ||||
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. Spirit River voted in favour of the proposal, but the No side also polled a close vote. Voter turnout in the district was the lowest in the province, falling to half of 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 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.