Riding Profile:
This large west-central riding reaches from the B.C. border to Gull
Lake, near Bentley, in the east. The 2004 redistribution made several
slight adjustments to the boundaries, including extending the northeast
corner to just shy of Bluffton. Part of Banff National Park is in this
riding, as is the rich Caroline gas field. Other than Rocky Mountain
House itself, communities include Eckville and Sundre.
Agriculture is the main employer here, followed by construction. Household
incomes, at $54,422, run below the Alberta average, though also below
average are the number of low-income residents at fewer than nine per
cent. More than 72 per cent of the population is Alberta-born, while
more than six per cent are immigrants. Aboriginal peoples are 7.5 per
cent of the population.
Political History:
Rocky Mountain House has elected Tories since 1971. The incumbent, Infrastructure
Minister Ty Lund, won his seat in 1989 by defeating the NDP's Molly
Brown by 2,665 votes. In the past three elections his closest challenger
has been Lavern Ahlstrom, leader of the Alberta Social Credit Party.
Ahlstrom lost by 2,862 votes in 1993, by 2,346 in 1997, and by 6,515
in 2001. Helen Hunley was MLA here from 1971-79, serving in cabinet.
From 1979-89, Jack Campbell was the MLA.
In 2001, voter turnout was 55.5 per cent.
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