View source for Edmonton-Meadowlark

{{Short description|Defunct provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada}}
{{other uses|Meadowlark, Edmonton (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox Canada electoral district
| name                =Edmonton-Meadowlark
| province            =Alberta
| image               =EdmontonMeadowlark in Edmonton.jpg
| caption             =2010 boundaries
| prov-rep            =
| prov-rep-link       =
| prov-rep-party      =
| prov-rep-party-link =
| prov-status         =defunct
| prov-created        =1971
| prov-abolished      =2019
| prov-created2       =
| prov-election-first =1971
| prov-election-last  =2015
}}

'''Edmonton Meadowlark''' was a [[Provinces and territories of Canada|provincial]] [[electoral district (Canada)|electoral district]] in [[Alberta]], Canada, mandated to return a single member to the [[Legislative Assembly of Alberta]] using the [[first past the post]] method of voting from 1971 to 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Election results for Edmonton-Meadowlark. |url=http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/year_result.php?Constit=Edmonton-Meadowlark |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/2217/20101208183724/http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/year_result.php?Constit=Edmonton-Meadowlark |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 December 2010 |website=abheritage.ca |publisher=Heritage Community Foundation |access-date=22 May 2020}}</ref>

The electoral district located on the western edge of Edmonton was created in the 1971 boundary redistribution from the old electoral districts of [[Edmonton-Jasper Place|Edmonton Jasper Place]] and [[Edmonton West (provincial electoral district)|Edmonton West]].

The district has switched support between Progressive Conservative and Liberal candidates with regular frequency since it was created, a trend broken by the election of the New Democrat MLA [[Jon Carson]] in the 2015 general election.

==History==
The electoral district was created in the 1971 boundary redistribution from the old electoral districts of Edmonton Jasper Place and Edmonton West.<ref name="1970EleAct">{{Cite canlaw|short title= The Election Act |abbr =RSA |year =1970 |chapter =C-117 |link =http://canlii.ca/t/53rn7 |linkloc =|wikilink =|type =|amended1 =|amended2=|amended3 =|amended4 =|amended5 =|regtitle =|regnumber =}}</ref> The 1993 redistribution would see the district go through a significant redrawing as most of the riding which was south of [[Whitemud Drive]] would be moved into the new district of [[Edmonton-McClung]]. The riding remained a rectangle shape between Whitemud and Stony Plain road with little changes made in 1996 and 2003.

The [[2010 Alberta electoral redistribution|2010 electoral boundary re-distribution]] would see a significant change as the riding was extended well beyond Stony Plain road up to [[Yellowhead Trail]] into land that was once in [[Edmonton-Calder]] and [[Edmonton-Glenora]].<ref name="changes">{{cite web|title=Proposed Electoral Division Areas, Boundaries, and Names for Alberta. Final Report to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta |url=http://www.assembly.ab.ca/lao/library/egovdocs/2010/alch/9780986536717.pdf |date=June 2010 |access-date=May 29, 2020 |author=Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission |publisher=[[Legislative Assembly of Alberta]]}}</ref>

===Boundary history===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"
!colspan=4|36 Edmonton-Meadowlark 2003 boundaries<ref name="2003bound">{{Cite canlaw
|short title  =Electoral Divisions Act|abbr         =S.A.|year         =2003|chapter      =E-4.1|section      =|subsection   =|part         =|division     = |schedule     =|link         =http://canlii.ca/t/53m7s|linkloc      =|wikilink     =|type         =|amended1     =|amended2     =|amended3     = |amended4     =|amended5     =|regtitle     =|regnumber    =}}</ref>
|-
!colspan=4|Bordering districts
|-
!North
!East
!West
!South
|-
|[[Edmonton-Calder]] and [[Edmonton-Glenora]]
|[[Edmonton-Riverview]]
|[[Stony Plain (electoral district)|Stony Plain]] and [[Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert]]
|[[Edmonton-McClung]]
|-
|colspan=2 align=center|''riding map goes here''
|colspan=2 align=center|[[File:Edmonton provincial ridings - Meadowlark.svg]]
|-
!colspan=4|Legal description from the {{Cite canlaw
|short title  =Electoral Divisions Act|abbr         =S.A.|year         =2003|chapter      =E-4.1|section      =|subsection   =|part         =|division     =
|schedule     =|link         =http://canlii.ca/t/53m7s|linkloc      =|wikilink     =|type         =|amended1     =|amended2     =|amended3     =
|amended4     =|amended5     =|regtitle     =|regnumber    =}}
|-
|colspan=4|Starting at the intersection of the west Edmonton city boundary with Stony Plain Road; then 1. east along Stony Plain Road to 156 Street; 2. south along 156 Street to 95 Avenue; 3. west along 95 Avenue to 163 Street; 4. south along 163 Street to 87 Avenue; 5. east along 87 Avenue to 159 Street; 6. south along 159 Street to Whitemud Drive; 7. west along Whitemud Drive to the west Edmonton city boundary; 8. west and north along the west city boundary to the starting point.
|-
|colspan=4|'''Note:'''
|}

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"
!colspan=4|39 Edmonton-Meadowlark 2010 boundaries
|-
!colspan=4|Bordering districts
|-
!North
!East
!West
!South
|-
|[[Edmonton-Calder]]
|[[Edmonton-Glenora]] and [[Edmonton-Riverview]]
|[[Spruce Grove-St. Albert]] and [[Stony Plain (electoral district)|Stony Plain]]
|[[Edmonton-McClung]] and [[Edmonton-South West]]
|-
|colspan=2 align=center|[[File:EdmontonMeadowlark electoral district 2010.jpg|200px]]
|colspan=2 align=center|[[File:EdmontonMeadowlark in Edmonton.jpg|200px]]
|-
!colspan=4|Legal description from the Statutes of Alberta 2010, Electoral Divisions Act.
|-
|colspan=4|
|-
|colspan=4|'''Note:'''
|}

===Electoral history===
{| class="wikitable" align=right
!colspan=5|Members of the Legislative Assembly for Edmonton-Meadowlark<ref name="memberslist">{{cite web|title=Members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 1905-2006 |url=https://www.assembly.ab.ca/legislaturecentennial/pdf/membersBooklet.pdf |publisher=Legislative Assembly of Alberta |access-date=February 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930024650/http://www.assembly.ab.ca/legislaturecentennial/pdf/membersBooklet.pdf |archive-date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref>
|-
!Assembly
!Years
!colspan="2"|Member
!Party
|-
|align="center" colspan=5|''See: [[Edmonton-Jasper Place|Edmonton Jasper Place]] and [[Edmonton West (provincial electoral district)|Edmonton West]] 1963–1971''
|-
|[[17th Alberta Legislative Assembly|17th]]
|1971–1975
|rowspan=4 {{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|rowspan=4|[[Gerard Amerongen]]
|rowspan=4|[[Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta|Progressive Conservative]]
|-
|[[18th Alberta Legislative Assembly|18th]]
|1975–1979
|-
|[[19th Alberta Legislative Assembly|19th]]
|1979–1982
|-
|[[20th Alberta Legislative Assembly|20th]]
|1982–1986
|-
|[[21st Alberta Legislative Assembly|21st]]
|1986–1989
|rowspan=4 {{Canadian party colour|AB|Liberal|background}}|
|rowspan=2|[[Grant Mitchell (politician)|Grant Mitchell]]
|rowspan=4|[[Alberta Liberal Party|Liberal]]
|-
|[[22nd Alberta Legislative Assembly|22nd]]
|1989–1993
|-
|[[23rd Alberta Legislative Assembly|23rd]]
|1993–1997
|rowspan=2|[[Karen Leibovici]]
|-
|[[24th Alberta Legislative Assembly|24th]]
|1997–2001
|-
|[[25th Alberta Legislative Assembly|25th]]
|2001–2004
|{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Bob Maskell]]
|Progressive Conservative
|-
|[[26th Alberta Legislative Assembly|26th]]
|2004–2008
|{{Canadian party colour|AB|Liberal|background}}|
|[[Maurice Tougas]]
|Liberal
|-
|rowspan=4|[[27th Alberta Legislative Assembly|27th]]
|2008–2010
|{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|rowspan=5|[[Raj Sherman]]
|Progressive Conservative
|-
|2010–2011
|rowspan=2 {{Canadian party colour|AB|Independent|background}}|
|Independent
|-
|2011
|Independent Liberal
|-
|2011–2012
|rowspan=2 {{Canadian party colour|AB|Liberal|background}}|
|rowspan=2|Liberal
|-
|[[28th Alberta Legislative Assembly|28th]]
|2012–2015
|-
|[[29th Alberta Legislative Assembly|29th]]
|2015–2019
|{{Canadian party colour|AB|NDP|background}}|
|[[Jon Carson]]
|[[Alberta New Democratic Party|New Democratic]]
|-
|align="center" colspan=5|''See: [[Edmonton-West Henday]] and [[Edmonton-McClung]] 2019–''
|}

The electoral district was created in the 1971 boundary redistribution. The election held that year saw Progressive Conservative candidate Gerard Amerongen pickup the new district for his party. He was successful after running as a candidate in various districts since the 1950s. Amerongen was elected as Speaker of the Assembly when it met for its first session after the election in 1972.

Amerongen won re-election with increasing majorities three more times in the 1975, 1979 and 1982 general elections. He ran for a fifth term in the 1986 general election but was defeated in a shocking upset by Liberal candidate Grant Mitchell. This was only the second time in Alberta history that the Speaker of the legislature had been defeated.

Mitchell was re-elected to his second term with a large majority in the 1989 general election. He ran for re-election in the [[Edmonton-McClung]] after redistricting created the new district out of most of the old land that covered Meadowlark. The new boundaries of Meadowlark returned Liberal candidate Karen Leibovici who won her first term with a substantial majority to hold the seat for her party.

Leibovici won her second term (in a closely contested race in the 1997 general election) defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Laurie Pushor. In the 2001 general election she was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate, Bob Maskell, who won by 600 votes to pick up the district.

Maskell would only stay for a single term in office as he was defeated by Maurice Tougas in the 2004 general election. Tougas did not stand for re-election in 2008 due to frustrations with being an opposition MLA,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://albertaviews.ca/why-i-left-politics/|title=Why I Left Politics: Ostracized. Ignored. Irrelevant. Welcome to life as an opposition MLA. |last=Tougas|first=Maurice|date=May 1, 2009|website=albertaviews.ca|language=en-US|access-date=2018-05-31}}</ref> and Progressive Conservative candidate Raj Sherman picked up the open district.

Sherman was removed from the Progressive Conservative caucus after making unsubstantiated allegations against the Alberta Government regarding abuses against staff working under [[Alberta Health Services]]. He at first sat as an Independent on November 22, 2010 than on March 15, 2011 he began caucusing with the Liberal caucus as an Independent. He was elected as leader of the provincial Liberals on September 10, 2011 and became a full member of the Liberal caucus two days later. He was re-elected in the [[2012 Alberta general election|2012 provincial election]] and decided to retire from politics in 2015.<ref name=resignation>{{cite news|title=Raj Sherman quits as Alberta Liberal leader, won't seek third term as MLA|url=https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/raj-sherman-quits-as-alberta-liberal-leader-wont-seek-third-term-as-mla|access-date=December 16, 2017|work=Edmonton Journal|date=January 26, 2015}}</ref>

Like the rest of the city, Edmonton-Meadowlark swung hard to the NDP in [[2015 Alberta general election|that election]], with [[Jon Carson]] easily capturing the seat.<ref>{{cite news |title=Alberta Election 2015: NDP's Jon Carson wins Edmonton-Meadowlark |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/1967187/alberta-election-2015-edmonton-meadowlark/ |access-date=1 June 2021 |work=[[Global News]] |date=May 5, 2015}}</ref> The riding was abolished for the 2019 election, replaced by [[Edmonton-West Henday]].

==Legislative election results==

===1971===
{{1971 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

===1975===
{{1975 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

===1979===
{{1979 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

===1982===
{{1982 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

===1986===
{{1986 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

===1989===
{{1989 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

===1993===
{{1993 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

===1997===
{{1997 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

===2001===
{{2001 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

===2004===
{{2004 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

===2008===
{{2008 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

===2012===
{{2012 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

===2015===
{{2015 Alberta general election/Edmonton-Meadowlark}}

==Senate nominee election results==

===2004===
{| class="wikitable"
|colspan="5" align=center|'''[[2004 Alberta Senate nominee election|2004 Senate nominee election results]]: Edmonton-Meadowlark'''<ref name="senresults2004">{{cite web |url=http://www.elections.ab.ca/Public%20Website/files/Reports/SN_snetabulation.pdf |title=Senate Nominee Election 2004 Tabulation of Official Results |publisher=Elections Alberta |access-date=February 28, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704143923/http://www.elections.ab.ca/Public%20Website/files/Reports/SN_snetabulation.pdf |archive-date=July 4, 2009 }}</ref>
|colspan="2"|'''Turnout 45.36%'''
|-
| colspan="2"| '''Affiliation'''
|'''Candidate'''
|'''Votes'''
|'''% votes'''
|'''% ballots'''
|'''Rank'''
{{CANelec|AB|PC|[[Betty Unger]]|4,528|17.12%|51.41%|2}}
{{CANelec|AB|Independent|[[Link Byfield]]|3,161|11.95%|35.89%|4}}
{{CANelec|AB|PC|[[Bert Brown]]|3,100|11.72%|35.20%|1}}
{{CANelec|AB|PC|[[Cliff Breitkreuz]]|2,929|11.07%|33.25%|3}}
{{CANelec|AB|Alliance|Michael Roth|2,285|8.64%|25.94%|7}}
{{CANelec|AB|Independent|[[Tom Sindlinger]]|2,173|8.21%|24.67%|9}}
{{CANelec|AB|Alliance|Gary Horan|2,114|7.99%|24.00%|10}}
{{CANelec|AB|Alliance|Vance Gough|2,107|7.96%|23.92%|8}}
{{CANelec|AB|PC|David Usherwood|2,104|7.95%|23.89%|6}}
{{CANelec|AB|PC|[[Jim Silye]]|1,955|7.39%|22.20%|5}}
|-
|colspan="3" align="right"|'''Total votes'''
|'''26,456'''
|colspan="3"|'''100%'''
|-
|colspan="3" align="right"|'''Total ballots'''
|'''8,808'''
|colspan="3"|'''3.00 votes per ballot'''
|-
|colspan="3" align="right"|'''Rejected, spoiled and declined'''
|colspan="4"|'''2,008'''
|}
''Voters had the option of selecting four candidates on the ballot''

==Student vote results==

===2004===
{| class="wikitable" align=right
!Participating schools<ref name="school">{{cite web|url=http://www.studentvote.ca/admin/election/Schools.htm |title=School by School results |publisher=Student Vote Canada |access-date=2008-04-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005211819/http://www.studentvote.ca/admin/election/Schools.htm |archive-date=October 5, 2007 }}</ref>
|-
|Aldergrove Elementary
|-
|Aurora Charter School
|-
|Centennial Elementary
|-
|St Thomas More School
|-
|H.E. Beriault School
|-
|St. Francis Xavier School
|}
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.

{| class="wikitable"
|colspan="5" align="center"|'''2004 Alberta student vote results'''<ref name="stu2004">{{cite web|url=http://www.studentvote.ca/admin/election/Candidate.htm |title=Riding by Riding Results - the Candidates |publisher=Student Vote Canada |access-date=2008-04-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213075623/http://studentvote.ca/admin/election/Candidate.htm/ |archive-date=February 13, 2012 }}</ref>
|-
|colspan="2"| '''Affiliation'''
|'''Candidate'''
|'''Votes'''
|'''%'''
{{Canadian party colour|AB|Liberal|row}}
|[[Alberta Liberal Party|Liberal]]
|[[Maurice Tougas]]
|363
|33.24%
{{CANelec|AB|PC|[[Bob Maskell]]|330|30.22%}}
{{Canadian party colour|AB|NDP|row}}
|[[Alberta New Democratic Party|NDP]]
|Lance Burns
|214
|19.60%
{{Canadian party colour|AB|Green|row-name}}
|Amanda Doyle
|131
|12.00%
{{CANelec|AB|Alliance|Aaron Campbell|38|3.48%}}
{{Canadian party colour|AB|Independent|row}}
|Independent
|Peggy Morton
|16
|1.46%
|-
|colspan="3" align ="right"|'''Total'''
|'''1,092'''
|'''100%'''
|-
|colspan="3" align="right"|'''Rejected, spoiled and declined'''
|colspan="2"|'''31'''
|}

===2012===
{| class="wikitable"
|colspan="5" align=center|'''2012 Alberta student vote results'''
|-
|colspan="2"| '''Affiliation'''
|'''Candidate'''
{{CANelec|AB|PC|[[Bob Maskell]]}}
{{CANelec|AB|Wildrose|Rick Newcombe}}
{{Canadian party colour|AB|Liberal|row}}
|[[Alberta Liberal Party|Liberal]]
|[[Raj Sherman]]
{{Canadian party colour|AB|NDP|row}}
|[[Alberta New Democratic Party|NDP]]
|Bridget Stirling
|-
|colspan="3" align="right"|'''Total'''
| 
|'''100%'''
|}

== See also ==
* [[List of Alberta provincial electoral districts]]
* [[Canadian provincial electoral districts]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |author1=Office of the Chief Electoral Officer |author2=Legislative Assembly Office |author2-link=Legislative Assembly of Alberta |author-link1=Elections Alberta |title=A Century of Democracy: Elections of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1905-2005 |date=2006 |publisher=Legislative Assembly of Alberta |series=The Centennial Series |location=Edmonton, AB |isbn=0-9689217-8-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/centennialseries04perr/mode/2up |access-date=25 May 2020}}

==External links==
*[http://www.electionsalberta.ab.ca/ Elections Alberta]
*[http://www.assembly.ab.ca/ The Legislative Assembly of Alberta]

{{AB-former-ED}}
{{AlbertaElections}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|53.54|N|113.65|W|display=title}}

[[Category:Former provincial electoral districts of Alberta]]
[[Category:Politics of Edmonton]]