Banff (N.W.T. electoral district)
Banff was a territorial electoral district that was mandated to return a single member to the North-West Legislative Assembly from 1891 until Alberta became a province in 1905.
 Northwest Territories electoral district | |
|---|---|
| Defunct territorial electoral district | |
| Legislature | Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories |
| District created | 1891 |
| District abolished | 1905 |
| First contested | 1891 |
| Last contested | 1902 |
Geography
The electoral district was named for Banff, covering the Alberta portion of the Rocky Mountains and foothills west of Calgary.
Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)
| Assembly | Years | Member|[1] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| See Calgary 1884-1891 | ||||
| 2nd | 1891–1894 | Robert Brett | Independent | |
| 3rd | 1894–1898 | |||
| 4th | 1898–1899 | Liberal | ||
| 1899-1902 | Arthur Sifton | Liberal-Conservative | ||
| 5th | 1902–1903 | |||
| 1903 | Vacant | |||
| 1903-1905 | Charles Fisher | Liberal | ||
| See Banff (Alberta) 1905–1940 | ||||
Banff's first representative was physician Robert Brett, who had already served one term as MLA for Red Deer, and served two full terms in Banff. There were no official parties in these early assemblies, but Brett aligned himself with the Northwest Territories Liberal Party when the Dominion party lines were introduced in 1898.
In the 1898 election, Brett appeared to have held his seat against challenger Arthur Sifton, but Sifton challenged the results in court and proceeded to win the ensuing by-election. In 1902, he easily defended his seat.[2]
When Sifton was appointed as a judge in early 1903, another by-election was held in Banff, this time won by Liberal candidate Charles Fisher. In 1905 when Alberta became a province, Fisher ran in the new Banff district and defeated previous MLA Robert Brett (now running as a Conservative) to retain the seat.
Election results
Elections in the 1890s
| 1891 Northwest Territories general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Independent | Robert George Brett | Acclaimed | ||||||
| Total valid votes | 0 | |||||||
Source(s)
"North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-30. | ||||||||
| 1894 Northwest Territories general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Independent | Robert George Brett | 238 | 64.15 | |||||
| Independent | T.F. English | 133 | 35.85 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 371 | 100.00 | ||||||
Source(s)
"North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-30. | ||||||||
| 1898 Northwest Territories general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Robert George Brett | 181 | 50.28 | -13.87 | ||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Arthur Lewis Sifton | 179 | 49.72 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 360 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -13.87 | ||||||
Source(s)
"North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-30. | ||||||||
| Northwest Territories territorial by-election, June 27, 1899 Upon the invalidation of the 1898 result | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Arthur Lewis Sifton | 193 | 54.83 | +5.11 | ||||
| Liberal | Robert George Brett | 159 | 45.17 | -5.11 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 352 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Liberal–Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +5.11 | ||||||
Source(s)
"North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-30. | ||||||||
Elections in the 1900s
| Northwest Territories territorial by-election, March 22, 1901 Upon the appointment of Arthur Lewis Sifton to the territorial cabinet | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Arthur Lewis Sifton | Acclaimed | ||||||
| Total valid votes | 0 | |||||||
| Liberal–Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | ||||||
Source(s)
"North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-30. | ||||||||
| 1902 Northwest Territories general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Arthur Lewis Sifton | 296 | 81.32 | +26.49 | ||||
| Liberal | Robert Smith | 68 | 18.68 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 364 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Liberal–Conservative hold | Swing | +26.49 | ||||||
Source(s)
"North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-30. | ||||||||
| Northwest Territories territorial by-election, February 4, 1903 Upon the resignation of Arthur Lewis Sifton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Charles Wellington Fisher | 263 | 57.67 | +38.99 | ||||
| Liberal–Conservative | H.J. Richardson | 193 | 42.33 | -38.99 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 456 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Liberal gain from Liberal–Conservative | Swing | +38.99 | ||||||
Source(s)
"North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-30. | ||||||||
References
- "North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives.
- Hall, David (2004). "Arthur L. Sifton". In Bradford J. Rennie (ed.). Alberta Premiers of the Twentieth Century. Regina, Saskatchewan: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina. ISBN 0-88977-151-0.