# Bow Valley-Empress

Bow Valley-Empress 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

Bow Valley-Empress was formed in the 1939 redistribution from Empress and Bow Valley.
The Bow Valley-Empress electoral district was dissolved in the 1970 electoral district re-distribution, and renamed Bow Valley.
Members of the Legislative Assembly for Bow Valley-Empress :
| Assembly | Years | Member | Party |
| See Bow Valley electoral district from 1913-1940 and Empress electoral district from 1926-1940 |||||
| 9th | 1940–1944 | Wilson E. Cain | Social Credit |
| 10th | 1944–1948 | Wilson E. Cain | Social Credit |
| 11th | 1948–1952 | Wilson E. Cain | Social Credit |
| 12th | 1952–1955 | Wilson E. Cain | Social Credit |
| 13th | 1955–1959 | Bryce C. Stringam | Independent |
| 14th | 1959–1963 | William Delday | Social Credit |
| 15th | 1963–1967 | William Delday | Social Credit |
| 16th | 1967–1971 | Fred T. Mandeville | Social Credit |
| See Bow Valley electoral district from 1971-1997 |||||

## Election results
### 1940

vte1940 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Wilson E. Cain | 2,035 | 53.59% | – |
| | Independent | E. L. Gray | 1,762 | 46.41% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,797 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 146 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,596 | 70.46% | – |
| | 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. |
| Source(s) Source: "Bow Valley-Empress Official Results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1944

vte1944 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Wilson E. Cain | 2,131 | 56.24% | 2.65% |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | John Fowlie | 1,033 | 27.26% | – |
| | Independent | T. S. Montgomerie | 625 | 16.50% | -29.91% |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,789 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 144 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,290 | 74.35% | 3.89% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 10.89% |
| Source(s) Source: "Bow Valley-Empress Official Results 1944 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1948

vte1948 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Wilson E. Cain | 2,178 | 55.50% | -0.74% |
| | Liberal | Herbert G. Claxton | 1,063 | 27.09% | – |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | John William McLachlan | 683 | 17.41% | -9.86% |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,924 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 312 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,150 | 68.88% | -5.47% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -0.28% |
| Source(s) Source: "Bow Valley-Empress Official Results 1948 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1952

vte1952 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Wilson E. Cain | 2,475 | 61.34% | 5.83% |
| | Liberal | Albert T. Johnson | 1,560 | 38.66% | 11.57% |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,035 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 352 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,463 | 67.88% | -1.00% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -2.87% |
| Source(s) Source: "Bow Valley-Empress Official Results 1952 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1955

vte1955 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Bryce C. Stringam | 2,569 | 52.44% | – |
| | Social Credit | William Delday | 2,330 | 47.56% | -13.78% |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,899 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 234 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,887 | 74.53% | 6.65% |
| | Independent gain from Social Credit | Independent gain from Social Credit | Swing | Swing | -8.90% |
| Source(s) Source: "Bow Valley-Empress Official Results 1955 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1959

vte1959 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | William Delday | 2,863 | 56.40% | 8.84% |
| | Independent | Bryce C. Stringam | 2,213 | 43.60% | -8.84% |
| Total | Total | Total | 5,076 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 4 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,908 | 73.78% | -0.75% |
| | Social Credit gain from Independent | Social Credit gain from Independent | Swing | Swing | 3.96% |
| Source(s) Source: "Bow Valley-Empress Official Results 1959 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1963

vte1963 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | William Delday | 2,871 | 60.24% | 3.84% |
| | Progressive Conservative | George A. Simpson | 972 | 20.39% | – |
| | Liberal | George Timko | 923 | 19.37% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,766 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 4 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 7,088 | 67.30% | -6.49% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 13.52% |
| Source(s) Source: "Bow Valley-Empress Official Results 1963 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1967

vte1967 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Social Credit | Fred T. Mandeville | 2,525 | 49.59% | -10.65% |
| | Coalition | Ben M. MacLeod | 2,018 | 39.63% | – |
| | New Democratic | Calvin Steinley | 549 | 10.78% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 5,092 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 44 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 6,922 | 74.20% | 6.90% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -14.94% |
| Source(s) Source: "Bow Valley-Empress Official Results 1967 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

## Plebiscite results
### 1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Bow Valley-Empress :
| 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 | 1,818 | 54.86% |
| | No | 1,496 | 45.14% |
| Total votes | Total votes | 3,314 | 100% |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 11 | 11 |
| 6,341 eligible electors, turnout 52.44% ||||
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. Bow Valley-Empress voted in favour of the proposal by a solid margin. The district recorded one of the higher turnouts in the province, well above 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.