2004 Candidates:
Hector G. Goudreau (PC)
Dale Lueken (Alberta Alliance)
Leon R. Pendleton (NDP)
Lanny Portsmouth (Social Credit)
Don Thompson (Liberal)
Riding Profile:
Dunvegan-Central Peace is a vast riding stretching along the British
Columbia border in northwest Alberta. Previously called Dunvegan, the
riding was renamed following the 2004 redistribution, when a small area
closest to the community of Peace River was carved away. Despite the
size of Dunvegan-Central Peace, only 24,496 people live here, making
it Alberta's least populous riding. Major communities include Fairview,
Spirit River, Grimshaw, Falher, McLennan and Berwyn.
Though the riding's northern reaches are wilderness, the south is farmland
- the main money-maker here, followed by construction work. The average
income is $51,741, well below the provincial average, and only 9.3 per
cent of families are low income, also below the provincial average.
Homes are cheap: $83,315 on average - the lowest in Alberta.
At 2.4 per cent, the francophone population is the largest in the province,
and people of Ukrainian and German origin are also numerous. Nearly
six per cent of residents are aboriginal. Just over five per cent are
immigrants, while 73 per cent were born in Alberta. Education rates
are low: 42.2 per cent never finished high school, and only 29.5 per
cent hold a post-secondary degree - the second-lowest in Alberta.
Political History:
The incumbent, Conservative Hector Goudreau, was elected in 2001, beating
Liberal Bruce Rutley by almost 4,000 votes. From 1971-85, when this
was the former riding of Spirit River-Fairview, voters were represented
by then NDP leader Grant Notley. In the byelection called after Notley's
death, the NDP's Jim Gurnett won by 462 votes. In the 1986 general election,
however, Gurnett was unseated by Tory Glen Clegg by a margin of 202
votes. Clegg held the seat until 2001, enduring one other close race
- in 1993, when he fended off Liberal Hartman Nagel by 303 votes.
In 2001, voter turnout was 54.9 per cent.
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