The electoral district was created in the 1971 boundary redistribution when the old Lethbridge district was split into this district and Lethbridge-West.
The current representative for Lethbridge-East is New Democrat Maria Fitzpatrick, who won her first term on May 5, 2015. Prior to her it was held by Liberal-turned-PC Bridget Pastoor from 2004-2015 and Liberal Ken Nicol from 1993-2004. Progressive Conservatives and Social Credit representatives have also held this district in the past.
History
The electoral district was created in the 1971 boundary redistribution when the old electoral district of Lethbridge was split in half.
The 2010 boundary redistribution made some minor revisions to equalize the population between West and East. North of St. Edward Blvd the boundary was pushed west from 13 Street to Stafford Drive.[1]
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 13 Street North and the north Lethbridge city boundary; then 1. generally east, south and west along the city boundary to the right bank of the Oldman River; 2. north along the right bank to the east boundary of Sec. 18 in Twp. 8, Rge. 21 W4; 3. north along the east boundary of Secs. 18, 19 and 30 in the Twp. to Scenic Drive; 4. northwest along Scenic Drive to 16 Avenue South; 5. east along 16 Avenue South to 13 Street South; 6. north along 13 Street South and 13 Street North to the starting point.
The electoral district was created in the 1971 boundary redistribution. The first election that year saw a hotly contested race between Social Credit candidate John Anderson and Progressive Conservative candidate Richard Barton. Anderson won by just under a thousand votes to pick up the new seat for his party despite Social Credit losing government that year.
Anderson would be defeated in the 1975 general election by Archibald Johnston who won in a landslide. He would be appointed to the provincial cabinet by Premier Peter Lougheed after the election. He was re-elected to his second term in the 1979 election with a smaller majority.
The 1982 general election saw Johnston win the biggest majority of his career and the history of the district. He was re-elected to a fourth term in the 1986 general election and a fifth term in the 1989 general election. He held a cabinet post until 1992 when Ralph Klein became Premier. He retired at dissolution of the assembly in 1993.
The 1993 general election saw Liberal candidate Ken Nicol elected here in a closely contested race. Nicol won re-election in 1997 with a larger majority. He held his seat for a third term in the 2001 election and became Liberal leader later that year. Nicol resigned on May 25, 2004 to run for a seat to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2004 Canadian federal election.
The 2004 election saw Liberal candidate Bridget Pastoor win a closely contested race over Rod Fong to hold the district for her party. She was re-elected in both the 2008 and 2012 general elections. In 2015, Pastoor announced she would not seek re-election in the 2015 general election.
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.
^The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-seventh Legislative Assembly. Elections Alberta. July 28, 2008. pp. 498–471.
Alberta electoral district