Riding Profile:
This new riding is tucked between Edmonton's city limits to the west
and Elk Island National Park to the east. The riding mostly follows
the boundaries of the pre-2004 redistribution Clover Bar-Fort Saskatchewan
riding, except that in the north the area around Fort Saskatchewan -
approximately between Highway 15 and the North Saskatchewan River -
has been transferred to the new Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville riding.
Household incomes in Strathcona are high at $86,807 on average, which
is far above the provincial norm. Fewer than four per cent of residents
are low income, the second-lowest rate in Alberta. Manufacturing is
the biggest provider of jobs, followed by construction. Two-thirds of
the people here were born in Alberta, while nine per cent are immigrants.
Political History:
The old riding of Clover Bar-Fort Saskatchewan had a diverse political
history. The incumbent, Tory Rob Lougheed, was elected in 1997, unseating
then-incumbent Muriel Abdurahman, a one-term Liberal MLA, by 500 votes.
Lougheed won again in 2001, with double the ballots of runner-up Liberal
Skip Gordon. From 1967-89 this riding was held by Walter Buck. Buck
started his career with the Social Credit Party, then won as an independent
in 1982, and then in 1986, under the banner of the Representative Party
of Alberta, defeated future MLA Abdurahman, who ran as a Tory. In 1989,
PC Kurt Gessell beat Liberal Stephen Lindop by 184 votes.
In 2001, voter turnout was 60.3 per cent.
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