# Beaver River (provincial electoral district)

Beaver River was a provincial electoral district in Alberta mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1913 to 1952. It was created in 1913 from the western half of Pakan, and abolished in 1952 when it and the northern parts of Athabasca were replaced by Lac La Biche.

## Representation history

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Beaver River :
| Assembly | Years | Member | Party |
| See Pakan 1909-1913 |||||
| 3rd | 1913–1917 | Wilfrid Gariépy | Liberal |
| 4th | 1917–1921 | Wilfrid Gariépy | Liberal |
| 5th | 1921–1926 | Joseph Dechêne | Liberal |
| 6th | 1926–1930 | John Delisle | United Farmers |
| 7th | 1930–1935 | Henry Dakin | Liberal |
| 8th | 1935–1940 | Lucien Maynard | Social Credit |
| 9th | 1940–1944 | Lucien Maynard | Social Credit |
| 10th | 1944–1948 | Lucien Maynard | Social Credit |
| 11th | 1948–1952 | Harry Lobay | Social Credit |
| See Lac La Biche 1952-1971 |||||
Beaver River's first MLA was Liberal Wilfrid Gariépy, a Quebec-born settler whose residency would be the subject of controversy toward the end of his second term. He did not run for a third, choosing instead to return to Trois-Rivières. Liberal Joseph Dechêne won the riding in 1921, but would go on to defeat in 1926. He later became MLA for neighbouring St. Paul.
John Delisle picked Beaver River up for the United Farmers of Alberta, serving only one term. In the 1930 election, a judicial recount declared him narrowly defeated by Liberal Henry Dakin, who would also serve only one term.
In the 1935 Social Credit sweep, Lucien Maynard won Beaver River by a landslide. He easily won re-election twice more, retiring for the 1948 election.
Social Credit kept the riding, with Harry Lobay narrowly beating his Liberal challenger and serving out the riding's last term. It was replaced in 1952, but Lobay would go on to serve another term as MLA for the new riding of Lac La Biche.

## Election results
### 1910s

vte1913 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Wilfrid Gariépy | 457 | 61.67% |
| | Conservative | Ambrose Gray | 284 | 38.33% |
| Total | Total | Total | 741 |
| | 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: "Beaver River Official Results 1913 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||
vteAlberta provincial by-election, December 15, 1913 Ministerial by-election upon appointment as Minister of Municipal Affairs :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Wilfrid Gariépy | Acclaimed | – | – |
| Total | Total | Total | N/A | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | N/A | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | N/A | N/A | – |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | – |
| Source(s) "By-elections". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 26, 2020. |||||||
vte1917 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Wilfrid Gariépy | 1,134 | 64.07% | 2.39% |
| | Conservative | Ambrose Gray | 636 | 35.93% | -2.39% |
| Total | Total | Total | 1,770 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | N/A | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 2,689 | 65.82% | – |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | 2.39% |
| Source(s) Source: "Beaver River Official Results 1917 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1920s

vte1921 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Miville Dechêne | 1,560 | 62.33% | -1.74% |
| | United Farmers | H. Montambault | 943 | 37.67% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 2,503 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | N/A | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 3,510 | 71.31% | – |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | -1.74% |
| Source(s) Source: "Beaver River Official Results 1921 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||
vte1926 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Farmers | John Delisle | 1,168 | 54.15% | 16.47% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Miville Dechêne | 989 | 45.85% | -16.47% |
| Total | Total | Total | 2,157 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | N/A | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 3,370 | 64.01% | – |
| | United Farmers gain from Liberal | United Farmers gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | -8.18% |
| Source(s) Source: "Beaver River Official Results 1926 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1930s

vte1930 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Farmers | John Delisle | 1,028 | 48.13% | -6.02% |
| | Liberal | Henry H. Dakin | 1,021 | 47.80% | 1.95% |
| | Independent | Luc Lebel | 87 | 4.07% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 2,136 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 119 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 3,431 | 65.72% | – |
| | Liberal gain | Liberal gain | Swing | Swing | 21.95% |
| Source(s) Source: "Beaver River Official Results 1930 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Totals and swing for 1930 are based on the initial count; a judicial recount sided in favour of Dakin. |||||||
vte1935 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Lucien Maynard | 1,751 | 53.96% | – |
| | Liberal | Henry H. Dakin | 775 | 23.88% | -21.97% |
| | United Farmers | John Delisle | 572 | 17.63% | -36.52% |
| | Conservative | Walter Allen | 147 | 4.53% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,245 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | N/A | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 4,857 | 66.81% | – |
| | Social Credit gain from | Social Credit gain from | Swing | Swing | -11.06% |
| Source(s) Source: "Beaver River Official Results 1935 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1940s

vte1940 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Lucien Maynard | 2,555 | 57.06% | – |
| | Independent Liberal | A. Crowther | 1,136 | 25.37% | – |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | John Hannochko | 669 | 14.94% | – |
| | Independent Farmer | J. Bibby | 118 | 2.64% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,478 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 201 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,646 | 70.40% | – |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 0.81% |
| Source(s) Source: "Beaver River Official Results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||
vte1944 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Lucien Maynard | 2,747 | 60.57% | 3.51% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | John Hannochko | 1,403 | 30.94% | 16.00% |
| | Labor–Progressive | Stanley Dumka | 385 | 8.49% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,535 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 159 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,757 | 69.47% | – |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -1.03% |
| Source(s) Source: "Beaver River Official Results 1944 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||
vte1948 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| First count ||||||
| | Social Credit | Harry Lobay | 1,992 | 41.05% | -19.52% |
| | Liberal | Cecil Belleville | 1,579 | 32.54% | – |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | John Hannochko | 1,282 | 26.42% | -4.52% |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,853 | – | – |
| Ballot transfer results ||||||
| | Social Credit | Harry Lobay | 2,117 | 55.49% | 14.44% |
| | Liberal | Cecil Belleville | 1,698 | 44.51% | – |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | John Hannochko | Eliminated | – | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,815 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 265 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 7,423 | 68.95% | – |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -26.03% |
| Source(s) Source: "Beaver River Official Results 1948 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 |||||||
Overall swing is based on first count. Second-round swing reflects increase in vote share from the first count.