# Athabasca-Lac La Biche

Athabasca-Lac La Biche was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 1986 to 1993.

## History

The Athabasca-Lac La Biche electoral district was established in the 1986 electoral boundary re-distribution from the Athabasca and Lac La Biche-McMurray electoral districts.
The electoral district was abolished in the 1993 electoral district re-distribution and succeeded by Lac La Biche-St. Paul and Athabasca-Wabasca electoral districts.

### Representation history

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Athabasca-Lac La Biche :
| Assembly | Years | Member | Party |
| See Athabasca electoral district from 1905-1986 and Lac La Biche-McMurray electoral district from 1971-1986 |||||
| 21st | 1986–1989 | Leo Piquette | New Democratic |
| 22nd | 1989–1993 | Mike Cardinal | Progressive Conservative |
| See Athabasca-Wabasca electoral district from 1993–2001 and Lac La Biche-St. Paul electoral district from 1993–2012 |||||
The short-lived Athabasca-Lac La Biche electoral district was contested only twice but returned two different members to the Legislature. Although the Progressive Conservatives had held the antecedent ridings since 1971 and 1975, New Democrat Leo Piquette picked up the new riding in 1986, one of only two rural districts won by the party in that election. In 1987 Piquette famously attempted to ask a question in the Legislature in French, sparking controversy over the place of the French language in Alberta.
In 1989, Piquette was defeated by PC candidate Mike Cardinal. He sponsored the Metis Settlements Land Protection Act in 1990 and was appointed to Ralph Klein's cabinet in 1992.
When the riding was abolished in 1993, Cardinal went on to run in the new district of Athabasca-Wabasca, and would serve four more terms in the Legislature. The other part of Athabasca-Lac La Biche went to the new riding of Lac La Biche-St. Paul, which the Liberals would win in the 1993 election.

## Election results
### 1986

vte1986 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Leo Piquette | 3,372 | 39.23% | – |
| | Progressive Conservative | Bill Kostiw | 3,098 | 36.04% | – |
| | Liberal | Don J. Corse | 1,942 | 22.59% | – |
| | Western Canada Concept | Peter Mihailuk | 184 | 2.14% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 8,596 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 17 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 13,941 | 61.78% | – |
| | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. |
| Source(s) Source: "Athabasca-Lac La Biche Official Results 1986 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1989

vte1989 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Mike Cardinal | 4,237 | 45.22% | 9.18% |
| | New Democratic | Leo Piquette | 3,342 | 35.67% | -3.56% |
| | Liberal | Tom Maccagno | 1,791 | 19.11% | -3.48% |
| Total | Total | Total | 9,370 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 30 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 13,933 | 67.47% | – |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from New Democratic | Progressive Conservative gain from New Democratic | Swing | Swing | 3.18% |
| Source(s) Source: "Athabasca-Lac La Biche Official Results 1989 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||