# Barrhead (electoral district)

Barrhead was a provincial electoral district in Alberta mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using first-past-the-post balloting from 1971 to 1993.

## History
### Boundary history

Barrhead replaced the district of Pembina in the redistribution that took effect in 1971, centred around the town of Barrhead. In 1979 its southern boundary was extended to the north shore of Lac Ste. Anne, and extended further south again in 1986.
In the redistribution that took effect in 1993, the riding was replaced by Barrhead-Westlock and its southern portion was transferred to Whitecourt-Ste. Anne.

### Representation history

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Barrhead-Westlock :
| Assembly | Years | Member | Party |
| See Pembina 1909–1971 |||||
| 17th | 1971–1975 | Hugh Horner | Progressive Conservative |
| 18th | 1975–1979 | Hugh Horner | Progressive Conservative |
| 19th | 1979 | Hugh Horner | Progressive Conservative |
| 19th | 1979 | Vacant | Vacant |
| 19th | 1979–1982 | Ken Kowalski | Progressive Conservative |
| 20th | 1982–1986 | Ken Kowalski | Progressive Conservative |
| 21st | 1986–1989 | Ken Kowalski | Progressive Conservative |
| 22nd | 1989–1993 | Ken Kowalski | Progressive Conservative |
| See Barrhead-Westlock 1993–2004 and Whitecourt-Ste. Anne 1993–2019 |||||
The first representative for Barrhead was one-term Progressive Conservative MLA for Lac Ste. Anne Hugh Horner, who had captured his seat from the governing Social Credit in 1967. He occupied several posts in Peter Lougheed's cabinet over his career, but retired shortly after winning his fourth term as MLA in 1979.
The resulting by-election was the closest result in the history of the district, with Liberal leader Nicholas Taylor running for the seat. Progressive Conservative Candidate Ken Kowalski, however, would narrowly retain Barrhead for the government. He also served in cabinet and, when the district was abolished in 1993, went on to serve as MLA for Barrhead-Westlock.

## Election results
### Elections in the 1970s

vte1971 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Hugh Horner | 3,360 | 59.43% | – |
| | Social Credit | Simon Tuininga | 1,651 | 29.20% | – |
| | New Democratic | Herman Burke | 643 | 11.37% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 5,654 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 19 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 7,894 | 71.86% | – |
| | 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) Source: "Barrhead Official Results 1971 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||
vte1975 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Hugh Horner | 3,665 | 67.74% | 8.32% |
| | Social Credit | Bill Seatter | 919 | 16.99% | -12.21% |
| | New Democratic | Arlington Corbett | 826 | 15.27% | 3.90% |
| Total | Total | Total | 5,410 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 21 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 8,190 | 66.31% | – |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 10.27% |
| Source(s) Source: "Barrhead Official Results 1975 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||
vte1979 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Hugh Horner | 4,629 | 62.29% | -5.45% |
| | Social Credit | David Bouyea | 1,658 | 22.31% | 5.32% |
| | New Democratic | Lionel Udenberg | 1,008 | 13.56% | -1.70% |
| | Liberal | John V. Murphy | 136 | 1.83% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 7,431 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | N/A | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 10,871 | 68.36% | – |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -5.39% |
| Source(s) Source: "Barrhead Official Results 1979 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||
vteAlberta provincial by-election, November 21, 1979 Following the resignation of Dr. Hugh Horner on October 1, 1979 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Ken Kowalski | 2,457 | 38.74 | -23.55 |
| | Liberal | Nicholas Taylor | 2,102 | 33.14 | +31.31 |
| | Social Credit | David Bouyea | 1,067 | 16.82 | -5.49 |
| | New Democratic | Arlington Corbett | 716 | 11.29 | -2.27 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 6,342 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | – | – | – |
| Eligible voters / turnout | Eligible voters / turnout | Eligible voters / turnout | 11409 | 55.59 | -13.39 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -27.43 |
| Source(s) Elections Alberta. "By-elections". Retrieved January 22, 2018. |||||||

### Elections in the 1980s

vte1982 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Ken Kowalski | 5,001 | 51.44% | -10.85% |
| | Liberal | Nicholas Taylor | 3,331 | 34.26% | 32.43% |
| | Western Canada Concept | John Thomas Mitchell | 633 | 6.51% | – |
| | New Democratic | Harold Wharton | 478 | 4.92% | -8.65% |
| | Social Credit | Shirley Bassani | 240 | 2.47% | -19.84% |
| | Reform | Ernie Charman | 39 | 0.40% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 9,722 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 13 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 12,226 | 79.63% | – |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -11.40% |
| Source(s) Source: "Barrhead Official Results 1982 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||
vte1986 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Ken Kowalski | 5,092 | 57.82% | 6.38% |
| | New Democratic | Larry E. McConnell | 2,303 | 26.15% | 21.24% |
| | Liberal | Mary Lou Ehrenholz | 637 | 7.23% | -27.03% |
| | Independent | Herb Brent | 539 | 6.12% | – |
| | Representative | Ferne Nutt | 235 | 2.67% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 8,806 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 13 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 14,491 | 60.86% | – |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 7.25% |
| Source(s) Source: "Barrhead Official Results 1986 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||
vte1989 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Ken Kowalski | 5,294 | 57.51% | 6.07% |
| | New Democratic | Harold Wharton | 1,673 | 18.17% | 13.26% |
| | Liberal | Dave Perrin | 1,660 | 18.03% | -16.23% |
| | Social Credit | J. Harvey Yuill | 578 | 6.28% | 3.81% |
| Total | Total | Total | 9,205 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 16 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 14,426 | 63.92% | – |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 3.83% |
| Source(s) Source: "Barrhead Official Results 1989 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||