Banff-Cochrane

Banff-Cochrane

Alberta electoral district
2010 boundaries
Provincial electoral district
Legislature	Legislative Assembly of Alberta
MLA	Janis Tarchuk Alberta PC Association
District created	1940
District abolished	1975
District re-created	1979
First contested	1940
Last contested	2008

Banff-Cochrane is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. This riding is home to the town of Banff and the popular tourist destination Banff National Park, environmental issues tend to dominate here.

The cost of living is significantly high especially in Canmore where there is a struggle to fill low wage service sector jobs, due to the high cost of living. Bears and wildlife encounters are also common in this riding, requiring extra attention to waste disposal. The area also has lots of ski resorts, a number of ranchers and farmers also make their home in the Alberta Foothills.

The riding was first created in 1940 out of the north half of the old Rocky Mountain riding, and the Cochrane riding. From 1975 to 1979 the riding was re-named Banff but was later reversed.

History

The electoral district has existed twice. The first iteration was created in the 1940 boundary redistribution from the ridings of Cochrane and Rocky Mountain. In 1975 the riding name was changed to Banff and it was set back to Banff-Cochrane in the 1977 redistribution.

The 2010 boundary redistribution saw Banff-Cochrane gain the land south of Cochrane that was in the old Foothills-Rocky View electoral district.

Boundary history

45 Banff-Cochrane 2003 Boundaries
Bordering Districts
North	East	West	South
Rocky Mountain House	Foothills-Rocky View, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, Highwood	none	Livingstone-Macleod
riding map goes here		map in relation to other districts in Alberta goes here
Legal description from the Statutes of Alberta 2003, Electoral Divisions Act.
Starting at the intersection of the east boundary of Rge. 19 W5 and the east boundary of Banff National Park; then 1. in a generally southeasterly direction along the park boundary to the north boundary of Twp. 30; 2. east along the north boundary of the Twp. to the east boundary of Rge. 8 W5; 3. north along the east boundary of Rge. 8 W5 to the intersection with the right bank of the Red Deer River; 4. downstream along the right bank to the north boundary of Twp. 31; 5. east along the north boundary of the Twp. to the east boundary of Sec. 33 in Twp. 31, Rge. 6 W5; 6. south along the east boundary of Secs. 33, 28, 21 and 16 to the north boundary of Sec. 10 in the Twp.; 7. east along the north boundary of Secs. 10, 11 and 12 in the Twp. to the east boundary of Rge. 6; 8. south along the east boundary of Rge. 6 to the north boundary of Twp. 29, Rge. 6 W5; 9. west along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 34; 10. south along the east boundary of Secs. 34 and 27 to the north boundary of Sec. 23 in the Twp.; 11. east along the north boundary of Sec. 23 to the east boundary of Sec. 23; 12. south along the east boundary to the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 24 in the Twp.; 13. east along the north boundary of the south half of Sec. 24 to the east boundary of the west half of Sec. 24; 14. south along the east boundary of the west half of Sec. 24 to the north boundary of Sec. 13; 15. east along the north boundary of Sec. 13 to the east boundary of Rge. 6 W5; 16. south along the east boundary of Rge. 6 to the north boundary of Sec. 12, Twp. 27, Rge. 6 W5; 17. west along the north boundary to the east boundary of Sec. 11; 18. south along the east boundary of Secs. 11 and 2 in Twp. 27 and the east boundary of Secs. 35, 26, and 23 in Twp. 26 to the west shore of the Ghost Lake Reservoir; 19. south along the west shore to the north boundary of Sec. 12 in the Twp.; 20. east along the north boundary of Sec. 12 to the southeast shore of the Ghost Lake Reservoir and the northeast boundary of the Stoney Indian Reserve No. 142, 143 and 144; 21. generally east and south along the Stoney Indian Reserve No. 142, 143 and 144 to the west town boundary of Cochrane (at the east boundary of Sec. 8 in Twp. 26, Rge. 4 W5); 22. north along the east boundary of Sec. 8 to the north boundary of Sec. 9; 23. east along the north boundary of Secs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 to the east boundary of Rge. 4 W5; 24. south along the east boundary of Rge. 4 W5 to the east town boundary of Cochrane; 25. south, west and north along the Cochrane town boundary to the east boundary of the Stoney Indian Reserve No. 142, 143 and 144; 26. westerly along the boundary of the Stoney Indian Reserve No. 142, 143 and 144 to the intersection with the east boundary of Rge. 6 W5; 27. south along the east boundary of Rge. 6 to the north boundary of Twp. 23 and the intersection with the east boundary of the Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve; 28. south and east along the east boundary of the Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve to the north boundary of Sec. 14 in Twp. 15, Rge. 3 W5 (Highway 532); 29. southwesterly along the boundary of the Cataract Creek Snow Vehicle Forest Land Use Zone described in Order In Council 998/79 to the east boundary of Rge. 6 W5; 30. south along the east boundary of Rge. 6 W5 to the north boundary of Twp. 13; 31. west along the north boundary of Twp. 13 to the Alberta-British Columbia boundary; 32. northwesterly along the boundary to its intersection with the north boundary of Twp. 32; 33. northeast along a projected line to the starting point.
Note:

49 Banff-Cochrane 2010 Boundaries
Bordering Districts
North	East	West	South
Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre	Airdrie, Chestermere-Rocky View, Livingstone-Macleod and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills	British Columbia boundary	Livingstone-Macleod
Legal description from the Statutes of Alberta 2010, Electoral Divisions Act.
Note:

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Banff-Cochrane
Assembly	Years	Member		Party
See Cochrane 1909-1940 and Rocky Mountain 1909-1940
9th	1940–1944	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Independent|	Frank Laut	Independent
10th	1944–1946	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit|	Arthur Wray	Social Credit
	1946–1948	rowspan=2 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Independent|		Independent Social Credit
11th	1948–1952
12th	1952–1955	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit|	Lee Leavitt	Social Credit
13th	1955–1959	rowspan=3 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Coalition|	Frank Gainer	Coalition
14th	1959–1963
15th	1963–1967
16th	1967–1971	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Independent|	Clarence Copithorne	Independent
	1971	rowspan=2 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Alberta PC Association|		Progressive Conservative
17th	1971–1975
See Banff 1975-1979
19th	1979–1982	rowspan=9 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Alberta PC Association|	Greg Stevens	Progressive Conservative
20th	1982–1986
21st	1986–1989
22nd	1989–1993	Brian Evans
23rd	1993–1997
24th	1997–2001	Janis Tarchuk
25th	2001–2004
26th	2004–2008
27th	2008–present

Electoral history

The electoral district was created in the 1940 boundary redistribution primarily from the ridings of Cochrane and Rocky Mountain. The first representative to win the district was Independent candidate Frant Laut who defeated former Cochrane Social Credit incumbent William King in a hotly contested race.

Laut was defeated running for a second term in the 1944 general election by Social Credit candidate Arthur Wray. Two years into his term Wray was suspended the Social Credit caucus on February 20, 1946 for criticizing the Alberta government after requests to the Public Works department to remove snow from Cochrane roads was ignored. The situation came to a head a year later when the Social Credit members passed a motion in the legislature to force Wray to move his desk to the opposition side of the house. His stand against cabinet won praise from his constituents in Cochrane.

The 1948 election would see a hotly contested battle as King and Laut attempt to regain their seat. Wray hung on to a second term in vote transfers. Wray would run for a third term in the 1952 election but would be defeated finishing a distant third by Social Credit candidate Lee Leavitt.

Leavitt was defeated by Frank Gainer who was one of two joint nominee's by the Progressive Conservative and Liberal parties in the 1955 election. He ran with the Coalition banner and sat in the legislature with it. Gainer won re-election in a hotly contested race in 1959. Pundits at the time figured he would be chosen to lead the four opposition members of different stripes with his Coalition banner, however no one was picked. He won a third term in 1963 before retiring in 1967.

The wide open race in 1967 saw Independent candidate Clarence Copithorne defeat Social Credit candidate Roy Wilson to win the district. Copithorne joined the Progressive Conservative caucus on April 15, 1971. He stood for reelection as a Progressive Conservative a few months later winning a strong plurality. He retired from provincial politics at dissolution in 1975.

In 1975 the riding name was changed to Banff before being changed back in 1979. Progressive Conservative candidate Greg Stevens held the district for three terms before retiring in 1993. He was replaced by Brian Evans for two terms. Janis Tarchuck the current representative was first elected in 1997 and has been re-elected for three more terms.

Legislature results 1940-1975

1940 general election

1940 Alberta general election results

Turnout 80.39%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Independent

Frank Laut

2,931

61.06%

*

Social Credit

William King

1,869

38.94%

*

Total

4,800

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

227

6,253 Eligible Electors

Independent pickup new district

Swing N/A

1944 general election

1944 Alberta general election results			Turnout 73.54%				1st Count Swing
	Affiliation	Candidate	1st	%	2nd	%	Party	Personal	Social Credit	Arthur Wray	1,568	38.51%	1,805	50.67%	0.40%	*	Independent	Frank Laut	1,602	39.34%	1,757	49.33%	*	-21.72%	Cooperative Commonwealth	D. MacGregor	902	22.15%			*
Total			4,072	100%	3,562	100%
Exhausted Ballots			0		510
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			118
5,698 eligible electors									Social Credit pickup from Independent					1st Count Swing 11.06%

1948 general election

1948 Alberta general election results			Turnout 58.17%				1st Count Swing
	Affiliation	Candidate	1st	%	2nd	%	Party	Personal	Independent Social Credit	Arthur Wray	1,658	41.58%	1,964	57.28%	*	3.07%	Independent	Frank Laut	1,246	31.24%	1,465	42.72%	*	-8.10%	Social Credit	William King	1,084	27.18%			-11.33%	*
Total			3,988	100%	3,429	100%
Exhausted Ballots			0		559
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			291
7,356 eligible electors									Independent Social Credit hold from floor crossing					1st Count Swing 5.59%

1952 general election

1952 Alberta general election results

Turnout 56.83%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Social Credit

Lee Leavitt

1,845

54.73%

27.55%

*

Liberal

C.C. Mathews

1,035

30.70%

*

Independent Social Credit

Arthur Wray

491

14.57%

*

-27.01%

Total

3,371

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

283

6,430 Eligible Electors

Social Credit pickup from Independent Social Credit

Swing 29.13%

1955 general election

1955 Alberta general election results

Turnout 70.69%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Coalition

Frank Gainer

2,342

54.87%

*

Social Credit

Lee Leavitt

1,926

45.13%

-9.60%

Total

4,268

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

293

6,452 Eligible Electors

Coalition pickup from Social Credit

Swing 32.34%

1959 general election

1959 Alberta general election results

Turnout 63.23%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Coalition

Frank Gainer

2,279

50.79%

-4.08%

Social Credit

Robin Echlin

2,208

49.21%

4.08%

*

Total

4,487

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

25

7,136 Eligible Electors

Coalition hold

Swing -4.08%

1963 general election

1963 Alberta general election results

Turnout 63.58%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Coalition

Frank Gainer

2,179

49.66%

-1.13%

Social Credit

Victor Watson

1,878

42.80%

-6.41%

*

NDP

Jack Fraser

331

7.54%

*

Total

4,388

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

12

6,921 Eligible Electors

Coalition hold

Swing -3.77%

1967 general election

1967 Alberta general election results

Turnout 64.01%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Independent

Clarence Copithorne

2,428

49.88%

*

Social Credit

Roy Wilson

2,066

42.44%

-0.36%

*

NDP

Jack Fraser

374

7.68%

0.14%

Total

4,868

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

31

7,653 Eligible Electors

Independent pickup from Coalition

Swing 25.12%

1971 general election

1971 Alberta general election results

Turnout 66.44%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Progressive Conservative

Clarence Copithorne

3,801

55.34%

*

5.46%

Social Credit

Slim Martin

2,647

38.54%

-3.90%

*

NDP

Beverly Coulter

420

6.12%

-1.56%

*

Total

6,868

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

187

10,619 Eligible Electors

Progressive Conservative hold from floor crossing

Swing 4.68%

Legislature results 1979-present

1979 general election

1979 Alberta general election results			Turnout 55.36%		Swing
	Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal	Progressive Conservative	Greg Stevens	5,578	66.87%	-2.05%	*	Social Credit	Thomas McArthur	1,462	17.52%	1.30%	*	NDP	Bob Ritchie	759	9.10%	0.63%	*	Liberal	Morna Schechtel	543	6.51%	1.38%
Total			8,342	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			9
15,086 Eligible Electors							Progressive Conservative hold1				Swing -1.68%

1. Results compared to Banff electoral district in the 1975 general election.

1982 general election

1982 Alberta general election results

Turnout 62.33%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Progressive Conservative

Greg Stevens

8,369

72.29%

5.42%

Western Canada Concept

Larry Peterson

1,919

16.58%

*

NDP

David Evans

1,288

11.13%

2.03%

*

Total

11,576

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

38

18,634 Eligible Electors

Progressive Conservative hold

Swing 11.00%

1986 general election

1986 Alberta general election results

Turnout 42.30%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Progressive Conservative

Greg Stevens

4,536

66.05%

-6.24%

NDP

Ed Fisher

1,452

21.14%

10.01%

*

Independent

Bill Deacon

444

6.46%

*

Representative

Betty Ann Stimson

436

6.35%

*

Total

6,868

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

22

16,290 Eligible Electors

Progressive Conservative hold

Swing -8.13%

1989 general election

1989 Alberta general election results

Turnout 48.89%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Progressive Conservative

Brian Evans

4,389

51.02%

-15.03%

*

Liberal

Jim Tanner

2,411

28.03%

*

NDP

Steven Scott

1,802

20.95%

-0.19%

*

Total

8,602

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

35

17,665 Eligible Electors

Progressive Conservative hold

Swing -21.53%

1993 general election

1993 Alberta general election results

Turnout 61.75%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Progressive Conservative

Brian Evans

6,552

52.55%

1.53%

Liberal

Paula Andrews

4,183

33.55%

5.52%

*

NDP

Cindy McCallum

1,048

8.41%

-12.54%

*

Independent

Brian Horejsi

607

4.87%

*

Natural Law

Ginger Sheets-Revitt

77

0.62%

*

Total

12,467

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

29

20,235 Eligible Electors

Progressive Conservative hold

Swing 3.53%

1997 general election

1997 Alberta general election results

Turnout 49.81%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Progressive Conservative

Janis Tarchuk

7,180

61.13%

8.58%

*

Liberal

Judy Stewart

3,151

26.82%

-6.73%

*

NDP

Jeff Eamon

754

6.42%

-1.99%

*

Social Credit

Scott Mudford

661

5.63%

*

Total

11,746

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

32

23,646 Eligible Electors

Progressive Conservative hold

Swing 7.66%

2001 general election

2001 Alberta general election results

Turnout 49.47%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Progressive Conservative

Janis Tarchuk

9,418

70.21%

9.08%

Liberal

Norman Kent

2,147

16.01%

-10.81%

*

NDP

Cathy Harrop

1,311

9.77%

3.35%

*

Independent

Cory Morgan

538

4.01%

*

Total

13,414

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

55

27,228 Eligible Electors

Progressive Conservative hold

Swing 9.95%

2004 general election

2004 Alberta general election results

Turnout 38.05%

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Progressive Conservative

Janis Tarchuk

4,238

52.75%

-17.46%

Liberal

Ian McDougall

1,648

20.51%

4.50%

*

Greens

Chris Foote

1,204

14.99%

*

Alberta Alliance

Bob Argent

477

5.94%

*

NDP

Mellisa Cambridge

467

5.81%

-3.96%

*

Total

8,034

100%

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

81

21,330 Eligible Electors

Progressive Conservative hold

Swing -10.98%

2008 general election

2008 Alberta general election results			Turnout 34.96%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal	Progressive Conservative	Janis Tarchuk	4,727	49.34%	-3.41%		Liberal	Patricia Robertson	2,753	28.74%	8.23%	*	Greens	Dan Cunin	1,353	14.12%	-0.87%	*	NDP	Anne Wilson	575	6.00%	0.19%	*	Independent	Zrinko Amerl	172	1.80%	*
Total			9,580	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			43
27,527 Eligible Electors							Progressive Conservative hold				Swing -5.82%

2012 general election

2012 Alberta general election

Turnout %

Swing

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Party

Personal

Progressive Conservative

Ron Casey

%

%

Wildrose

Tom Copithorne

%

%

Liberal

Pete Helfrich

%

%

*

NDP

Jamie Kleinsteuber

%

%

*

Total

'

100%

Rejected Ballots

'

Rejected, Spoiled and Declined

Swing %

Senate nominee results

2004 Senate nominee election district results

2004 Senate nominee election results: Banff-Cochrane					Turnout 38.05%
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	% Votes	% Ballots	Rank	Progressive Conservative	Bert Brown	3,183	16.46%	50.60%	1	Progressive Conservative	Betty Unger	2,745	14.20%	43.63%	2	Progressive Conservative	Jim Silye	2,360	12.21%	37.51%	5	Progressive Conservative	David Usherwood	2,232	11.54%	35.48%	6	Independent	Link Byfield	2,094	10.83%	33.29%	4	Progressive Conservative	Cliff Breitkreuz	1,853	9.58%	29.46%	3	Independent	Tom Sindlinger	1,588	8.21%	25.24%	9	Alberta Alliance	Michael Roth	1,130	5.84%	17.96%	7	Alberta Alliance	Vance Gough	1,109	5.74%	17.62%	8	Alberta Alliance	Gary Horan	1,041	5.39%	16.55%	10
Total Votes			19,335	100%
Total Ballots			6,291	3.07 Votes Per Ballot
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			1,826

Voters had the option of selecting 4 Candidates on the Ballot

Plebiscite district results

1948 Electrification Plebiscite

District data for the 1948 Electrification Plebiscite

Option A	Option B
Are you in favour of the generation and distribution of electricity being continued by the Power Companies?	Are you in favour of the generation and distribution of electricity being made a publicly owned utility administered by the Alberta Government Power Commission?
2,624     64.31%	1,456     35.69%
Province wide result: Option A passed.

1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Banff-Cochrane
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	Votes	%
	Yes	2,324	78.33%
	No	643	21.67%
Total Votes		2,967	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined		37
6,237 Eligible Electors, Turnout 48.16%
Question B1: Should mixed drinking be allowed in beer parlours in Calgary and the surrounding areas?
	Ballot Choice	Votes	%
	Yes	115	87.12%
	No	17	12.88%
Total Votes		132	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined		0
242 Eligible Electors, Turnout 54.55%

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 woman were allowed to drink together in establishments. Question B was slightly modified depending on which city the voters were in.

Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Banff-Cochrane voted overwhelmingly in favor of the plebiscite. The district recorded a slightly above average voter turnout, being a couple points above the province wide 46% average. The landslide in favour of Question A was attributed to recognition of the tourist industry in Banff and the national parks.

Banff-Cochrane also voted on question B1 with a number of residents lying inside the electoral district within the corporate limits of Calgary. Residents voted for mixed drinking with a super majority. Turnout for question B was also quite high.

Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957. The Social Credit government in power at the time did not considered 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 that wanted a license had to petition for a binding municipal plebiscite in order to be granted a license.

1967 Daylight Saving Plebiscite

District data from the 1967 Daylight Saving Plebiscite

Do you favour province-wide daylight saving time?
For	Against
2,323   48.17%	2,499   51.82%
Province wide result: Failed

1971 Daylight Saving Plebiscite

District data from the 1971 Daylight Saving Plebiscite

Do you favour province-wide daylight saving time?
For	Against
4,034   59.46%	2,750   40.54%
Province wide result: Passed

Student Vote results

2004 election

Participating Schools
Holy Spirit Catholic School
Lawerence Grassi Middle School
Mitford Middle School
Our Lady of the Snows

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		Candidate	Votes	%	Greens	Chris Foote	107	26.42%	Progressive Conservative	Janis Tarchuk	102	25.19%	Liberal	Ian McDougall	93	22.96%	Alberta Alliance	Bob Argent	54	13.33%	NDP	Melissa Cambridge	49	12.10%
Total			405	100%
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			16

2012 election

2012 Alberta Student Vote results

Affiliation

Candidate

Votes

%

Progressive Conservative

Ron Casey

%

Wildrose

%

Liberal

Pete Helfrich

%

Alberta Party

%

NDP

Jamie Kleinsteuber

%

Total

'

100%

External links

• Current Riding Map Banff-Cochrane
• Website of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
• Alberta Heritage Election results 1905 - 2001 and riding distribution data.
• Elections Alberta
• Pete Helfrich for Banff-Cochrane