# Drumheller-Stettler

Drumheller-Stettler is a provincial electoral district (riding) in Alberta, Canada. The electoral district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting. The district was created in the 2003 boundary redistribution and came into force in 2004 from the old districts of Drumheller-Chinook and Lacombe-Stettler.
The district is named after the towns of Drumheller and Stettler and covers a large rural portion of central east Alberta. It also contains the towns of Cereal, Consort, Hanna, Oyen and Youngstown and Dinosaur Provincial Park.
Situated in a very conservative region even by the standards of rural central Alberta, the district and its antecedents have been strongholds of centre-right parties for decades, such as the Social Credit Party, Progressive Conservatives, Wildrose Party, and currently the United Conservative Party, giving them their best result of all ridings in the 2023 provincial election, with over 82% of the vote. Smaller right wing parties such as the Alberta Alliance and Western Canada Concept have also historically done well in this region. The current representative in the district is Nate Horner.

## History

The electoral district was created in the 2003 boundary redistribution after parts of Drumheller-Chinook and Lacombe-Stettler were merged. The 2010 redistribution saw Paintearth County transferred to this division from Battle River-Wainwright.

### Boundary history

52 Drumheller-Stettler 2003 boundaries :
| Bordering districts ||||
| North | East | West | South |
| Battle River-Wainwright | none | Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, Lacombe-Ponoka, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, Strathmore-Brooks | Cypress-Medicine Hat |
| riding map goes here | riding map goes here | | |
| Legal description from the Statutes of Alberta 2003, Electoral Divisions Act. ||||
| Starting at the intersection of the north boundary of Twp. 42 and the east boundary of Rge. 19; then 1. east along the north boundary to the right bank of the Battle River; 2. downstream along the right bank to the east boundary of Sec. 8 in Twp. 41, Rge. 16 W4; 3. south along the east boundary of Secs. 8 and 5 in the Twp. and the east boundary of Secs. 32, 29, 20, 17, 8 and 5 in Twps. 40, 39, 38 and 37, Rge. 16 W4 to the north boundary of Twp. 36; 4. east along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 33 in the Twp.; 5. south along the east boundary of Secs. 33, 28, 21 and 16 in the Twp. to the north boundary of Sec. 10 in the Twp.; 6. east along the north boundary of Secs. 10, 11 and 12 in the Twp. and the north boundary of Secs. 7, 8 and 9 in Twp. 36, Rge. 15 W4 to the west shore of Sullivan Lake; 7. southeasterly along the west shore to the north boundary of Twp. 34, Rge. 15 W4; 8. east along the north boundary of Twp. 34 to the east boundary of Rge. 10; 9. north along the east boundary of Rge. 10 to the north boundary of Sec. 6 in Twp. 35, Rge. 9 W4; 10. east along the north boundary of Secs. 6 and 5 to the east boundary of Sec. 8 in the Twp.; 11. north along the east boundary of Secs. 8, 17, 20, 29 and 32 in the Twp. and Secs. 5, 8, 17, 20, 29 and 32 in Twp. 36 to the north boundary of Twp. 36; 12. east along the north boundary of Twp. 36 to the east boundary of Sec. 3 in Twp. 37, Rge. 9, W4; 13. north along the east boundary of Secs. 3 and 10 to the north boundary of Sec. 11; 14. east along the north boundary of Secs. 11 and 12 to the east boundary of Rge. 9 W4; 15. north along the east boundary of Rge. 9 to the north boundary of Twp. 37; 16. east along the north boundary of Twp. 37 to the east boundary of Sec. 33 in Twp. 37, Rge. 3 W4; 17. south along the east boundary of Secs. 33, 28, 21, 16, 9 and 4 in the Twp. and the east boundary of Secs. 33 and 28 in Twp. 36, Rge. 3 W4 to the north boundary of Sec. 22 in the Twp.; 18. east along the north boundary of Secs. 22, 23 and 24 in Rge. 3 W4 and the north boundary of Secs. 19, 20 and 21 in Twp. 36, Rge. 2 W4 to the east boundary of Sec. 21; 19. south along the east boundary of Secs. 21, 16, 9 and 4 to the north boundary of Twp. 35; 20. east along the north boundary of Twp. 35 to the east boundary of the Province; 21. south along the east boundary of the Province to the right bank of the South Saskatchewan River; 22. upstream along the right bank of the river to the east boundary of Rge. 3 W4; 23. north along the east boundary of Rge. 3 W4 to the north boundary of Sec. 13 in Twp. 20, Rge. 3 W4; 24. west along the north boundary of Secs. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 in Rges. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 to the east boundary of Rge. 11 W4; 25. north along the east boundary of Rge. 11 W4 to the right bank of the Red Deer River; 26. upstream along the right bank to the southeasterly point of the municipal boundary of the Town of Drumheller (at Sec. 22 in Twp. 27, Rge. 18 W4); 27. generally west and north along the municipal boundary of the Town of Drumheller to the intersection with the right bank of the Red Deer River (at Sec. 18, Twp. 29, Rge. 20 W4); 28. upstream along the right bank of the Red Deer River to the north boundary of Twp. 38; 29. east along the north boundary of Twp. 38 to the east boundary of Sec. 3 in the Twp.; 30. north along the east boundary of Secs. 3, 10, 15 and 22 to the north boundary of Sec. 23; 31. east along the north boundary of Secs. 23 and 24 to the east boundary of Rge. 22; 32. north along the east boundary of Rge. 22 to the south shore of Buffalo Lake; 33. in a northerly direction along the west shore of Buffalo Lake to the east boundary of Rge. 22; 34. north along the east boundary of Rge. 22 to the west shore of Buffalo Lake; 35. northeasterly along the west shore to the north boundary of Twp. 40; 36. east along the north boundary to the east shore of Buffalo Lake; 37. in a generally northerly direction along the east shore to the north boundary of Sec. 22 in Twp. 41, Rge. 20 W4; 38. east along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 27; 39. north along the east boundary of Secs. 27 and 34 in the Twp. to the north boundary of Twp. 41; 40. east along the north boundary of Twp. 41 to the east boundary of the west half of Sec. 4 in Twp. 42, Rge. 19 W4; 41. north along the east boundary of the west half of Secs. 4, 9, 16 and 21 in the Twp. to the north boundary of Sec. 21; 42. east along the north boundary of Secs. 21, 22, 23 and 24 in the Twp. to the east boundary of Rge. 19 W4; 43. north along the east boundary of Rge. 19 to the starting point. ||||
| Note: ||||
57 Drumheller-Stettler 2010 boundaries :
| Bordering districts ||||
| North | East | West | South |
| Battle River-Wainwright | Saskatchewan boundary | Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, Lacombe-Ponoka and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills | Cypress-Medicine Hat and Strathmore-Brooks |
| Legal description from the Statutes of Alberta 2010, Electoral Divisions Act. ||||
| Note: ||||

### Representation history

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Drumheller-Stettler :
| Assembly | Years | Member | Party |
| See Drumheller-Chinook 1997-2004 and Lacombe-Stettler 1993-2004 |||||
| 26th | 2004–2007 | Shirley McClellan | Progressive Conservative |
| 26th | 2007 | Vacant | Vacant |
| 26th | 2007–2008 | Jack Hayden | Progressive Conservative |
| 27th | 2008–2012 | Jack Hayden | Progressive Conservative |
| 28th | 2012–2015 | Rick Strankman | Wildrose |
| 29th | 2015–2017 | Rick Strankman | Wildrose |
| 29th | 2017–2019 | Rick Strankman | United Conservative |
| 29th | 2019 | Rick Strankman | Independent |
| 30th | 2019–2023 | Nate Horner | United Conservative |
| 31st | 2023– | Nate Horner | United Conservative |
The riding was created when the writ was dropped for the 2004 general election as a merger between Drumheller-Chinook and the eastern half of the Lacombe-Stettler riding. Deputy Premier Shirley McClellan, MLA for Drumheller-Chinook, defeated five other candidates to pick up the new district.
McClellan resigned her seat in the Legislature on January 15, 2007, the same day that former premier Ralph Klein resigned his seat in Calgary-Elbow. By-elections for both electoral districts were held on June 12, 2007.
The by-election saw a significant shift in support for the opposition parties with the re-emergence of the Liberal Party, which hadn't run a candidate in 2004, taking second place. The Alberta Alliance and NDP fared the worst, both retaining the same candidates from the general election, but dropping from second and third to fifth and last respectively. The Progressive Conservative candidate Jack Hayden won the district with a slightly reduced popular vote. Social Credit made surprising gains, jumping from last to third place, and Independent candidate John Rew also made a strong showing.
Hayden won his second term in the 2008 general election, winning a landslide. He was appointed to cabinet by Premier Ed Stelmach, first as Minister of Infrastructure until 2011, and then as Minister of Parks, Tourism and Recreation.
However, Hayden was narrowly defeated in the 2012 general election by Wildrose candidate Rick Strankman, famous for having gone to jail in protest of the Canadian Wheat Board. He was the first opposition MLA to represent the area since Gordon E. Taylor served as MLA for Drumheller in the 1970s.
In 2014 most of the Wildrose caucus, including Opposition Leader Danielle Smith, crossed the floor to the governing Progressive Conservatives in support of Jim Prentice's government. Strankman and four other Wildrose MLA's chose to remain with the party. In the 2015 general election, Strankman was re-elected by a much greater margin, as the Progressive Conservatives went down to a stunning defeat and Wildrose increased their seat count.
Wildrose subsequently merged with the Progressive Conservatives to form the United Conservative Party under Jason Kenney. While Strankman initially joined the party in 2017, he abandoned it in 2019 to sit as an Independent after losing the party's nomination to stand as candidate in the upcoming general election.

## Legislative election results
### 2004

2004 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressive Conservative | Shirley McClellan | 6,772 | 65.02 |
| | Alberta Alliance | Dave France | 1,414 | 13.58 |
| | New Democratic | Richard Bough | 869 | 8.34 |
| | Alberta Party | Eileen Walker | 616 | 5.92 |
| | Separation | David Carnegie | 465 | 4.47 |
| | Social Credit | Mary-Lou Kloppenburg | 279 | 2.67 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 10,415 |
| Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | 86 |
| Eligible electors / Turnout | Eligible electors / Turnout | Eligible electors / Turnout | 20,653 | 50.85 |
| | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. |
| Source(s) "Drumheller-Stettler Statement of Official Results 2004 Alberta general election" (PDF). Elections Alberta. Retrieved March 25, 2010. |||||||

### 2007 by-election

vteAlberta provincial by-election, June 12, 2007 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jack Hayden | 4,180 | 57.65 | −7.37 |
| | Liberal | Tom Dooley | 993 | 13.69 | – |
| | Social Credit | Larry Davidson | 852 | 11.75 | 9.08 |
| | Independent | John Rew | 519 | 7.16 | – |
| | Alberta Alliance | Dave France | 355 | 4.90 | −8.68 |
| | Green | Jennifer Wigmore | 249 | 3.43 | – |
| | New Democratic | Richard Bough | 103 | 1.42 | −6.92 |
| Total | Total | Total | 7,251 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | 13 | 25 | 3 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 22,509 | 32.31 | – |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | −10.53 |
| Source(s) Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2007). Report on the June 12, 2007 By-elections: Calgary-Elbow & Drumheller-Stettler (Report). Edmonton: Legislative Assembly of Alberta; Chief Electoral Officer. Retrieved April 20, 2021. |||||||

### 2008

vte2008 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jack Hayden | 6,986 | 68.90% | 11.25% |
| | Liberal | Tom Dooley | 1,463 | 14.43% | 0.73% |
| | Wildrose Alliance | Dave France | 1,062 | 10.47% | 5.57% |
| | Green | Amanda Bolton | 353 | 3.48% | 0.05% |
| | New Democratic | Richard Bough | 276 | 2.72% | 1.30% |
| Total | Total | Total | 10,140 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | 27 | 7 | 1 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 23,268 | 43.73% | – |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 5.99% |
| Source(s) Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (2008). The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-Seventh Legislative Assembly. Edmonton: Alberta Legislative Assembly. pp. 402–407. ISSN 1483-1171. Retrieved November 11, 2020. |||||||

### 2012

vte2012 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Wildrose | Rick Strankman | 7,452 | 49.38 | +38.91 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jack Hayden | 6,587 | 43.65 | -25.25 |
| | New Democratic | Aditya "Adi" Rao | 408 | 2.70 | -0.02 |
| | Liberal | Cam Roset | 362 | 2.40 | -12.03 |
| | Alberta Party | Andrew Berdahl | 281 | 1.86 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 15,090 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | 49 | 57 | 2 |
| Registered electors / turnout | Registered electors / turnout | Registered electors / turnout | 24,788 | 61.31 | +17.58 |
| | Wildrose gain from Progressive Conservative | Wildrose gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | Swing | +32.08 |
| Source(s) Elections Alberta. "Electoral division results: Drumheller-Stettler". Retrieved July 16, 2018. Chief Electoral Officer (2012). The Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 2011 Provincial Enumeration and Monday, April 23, 2012 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-eighth Legislative Assembly (PDF). Edmonton: Elections Alberta. pp. 342–344. OCLC 824182259. Retrieved November 16, 2020. |||||||

### 2015

2015 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Wildrose | Rick Strankman | 7,570 | 47.66 | -1.72 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jack Hayden | 5,388 | 33.92 | -9.73 |
| | New Democratic | Emily Shannon | 2,927 | 18.43 | +15.73 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 15,885 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | 30 | 19 | 12 |
| Eligible electors / Turnout | Eligible electors / Turnout | Eligible electors / Turnout | 26,861 | 59.36 | -1.95 |
| | Wildrose hold | Wildrose hold | Swing | Swing | +4.01 |
| Source(s) Elections Alberta. "Electoral division results: Drumheller-Stettler". Retrieved July 16, 2018. |||||||

### 2019

vte2019 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Conservative | Nate Horner | 16,958 | 76.69% | -4.89% |
| | Independent | Rick Strankman | 1,841 | 8.33% | – |
| | Alberta Party | Mark Nikota | 1,461 | 6.61% | – |
| | New Democratic | Holly Heffernan | 1,446 | 6.54% | -11.89% |
| | Alberta Independence | Jason Hushagen | 230 | 1.04% | – |
| | Alberta Advantage | Greg Herzog | 176 | 0.80% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 22,112 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 62 | 51 | 4 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 29,679 | 74.73% | 15.43% |
| | United Conservative hold | United Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 27.31% |
| Source(s) Source: "59 - Drumheller-Stettler, 2019 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2019). 2019 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer. Volume II (PDF) (Report). Vol. 2. Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 262–268. ISBN 978-1-988620-12-1. Retrieved April 7, 2021. |||||||

### 2023

vte2023 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Conservative | Nate Horner | 15,270 | 82.14 | +5.45 |
| | New Democratic | Juliet Franklin | 2,684 | 14.44 | +7.90 |
| | Alberta Independence | Shannon Packham | 382 | 2.05 | +1.01 |
| | Wildrose Loyalty Coalition | Hannah Stretch Viens | 150 | 0.81 | – |
| | Solidarity Movement | Carla Evers | 104 | 0.56 | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 18,590 | 99.45 | – |
| Rejected and declined | Rejected and declined | Rejected and declined | 103 | 0.55 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 18,693 | 60.59 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 30,850 |
| | United Conservative hold | United Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -1.22 |
| Source(s) Source: Elections Alberta |||||||

## Senate nominee election results
### 2004

| 2004 Senate nominee election results: Drumheller-Stettler | 2004 Senate nominee election results: Drumheller-Stettler | 2004 Senate nominee election results: Drumheller-Stettler | 2004 Senate nominee election results: Drumheller-Stettler | 2004 Senate nominee election results: Drumheller-Stettler | Turnout 50.52% | Turnout 50.52% |
| Affiliation | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % votes | % ballots | Rank |
| | Progressive Conservative | Bert Brown | 4,705 | 17.12% | 53.89% | 1 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Betty Unger | 3,888 | 14.15% | 44.53% | 2 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Cliff Breitkreuz | 2,873 | 10.46% | 32.91% | 3 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jim Silye | 2,840 | 10.34% | 32.53% | 5 |
| | Independent | Link Byfield | 2,826 | 10.28% | 32.37% | 4 |
| | Progressive Conservative | David Usherwood | 2,798 | 10.18% | 32.05% | 6 |
| | Alberta Alliance | Vance Gough | 2,208 | 8.04% | 25.29% | 8 |
| | Alberta Alliance | Michael Roth | 2,153 | 7.84% | 24.66% | 7 |
| | Alberta Alliance | Gary Horan | 1,923 | 6.99% | 22.03% | 10 |
| | Independent | Tom Sindlinger | 1,265 | 4.60% | 14.49% | 9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 27,479 | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Total ballots | Total ballots | Total ballots | 8,731 | 3.15 votes per ballot | 3.15 votes per ballot | 3.15 votes per ballot |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 1,703 | 1,703 | 1,703 | 1,703 |
Voters had the option of selecting four candidates on the ballot

## Student vote results
### 2004

* Participating schools
* Byemoor School
* C. J. Peacock School
* Delia School
* Jenner Colony School
* New Brigden School
* South Central High School
* Stettler Middle School
* Veteran School
* William E. Hay Composite School
* Youngstown School
On November 19, 2004, a student vote was conducted at participating Alberta schools to parallel the 2004 Alberta general election results. The vote was designed to educate students and simulate the electoral process for persons who have not yet reached the legal majority. The vote was conducted in 80 of the 83 provincial electoral districts with students voting for actual election candidates. Schools with a large student body that reside in another electoral district had the option to vote for candidates outside of the electoral district then where they were physically located.
2004 Alberta student vote results :
| Affiliation | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressive Conservative | Shirley McClellan | 519 | 55.63% |
| | NDP | Richard Bough | 110 | 11.79% |
| | Alberta Alliance | Dave France | 91 | 9.75% |
| | Separation | David Carnegie | 86 | 9.22% |
| | Alberta Party | Eileen Walker | 83 | 8.90% |
| | Social Credit | Mary-Lou Kloppenburg | 44 | 4.71% |
| Total | Total | Total | 933 | 100% |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 36 | 36 |

### 2012

2012 Alberta student vote results :
| Affiliation | Affiliation | Candidate | % |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jack Hayden | % |
| | Wildrose | Rick Strankman |
| | Liberal | Cam Roset | % |
| | Alberta Party | Andrew Berdahl |
| | NDP | Aditya "Adi" Rao | % |
| Total | Total | Total | 100% |