Riding Profiles

EDMONTON-BEVERLY-CLAREVIEW (25)

Riding Profile:

This northeast Edmonton riding is bordered on the east by the city limits, on the south mostly by the Yellowhead Trail and 118th Avenue, on the west by 82nd Street, and on the north mostly by 137th Avenue and the North Saskatchewan River. In the 2004 redistribution, the riding gained area from Edmonton-Norwood and both gained and lost area to Edmonton-Manning.

The average annual household income is $49,023, and almost 22 per cent of residents are low income, the third-highest rate in Alberta. More single-parent families live here than in any other riding in the province. Retail is the biggest employer, followed by manufacturing and health care and social services. Almost one in five residents is an immigrant, almost one in 12 is aboriginal, and 58.3 per cent were born in Alberta.

Political History:

Over the past three decades, voters in this riding have been represented by Conservatives, Liberals and New Democrats. In the 2004 election, former provincial NDP leader Ray Martin beat out incumbent Julius Yankowsky, a Tory who had served the region for more than a decade. Yankowsky first won the seat in 1993 when he ran as a Liberal and unseated then-two-term NDP incumbent Ed Ewasiuk. In 1994, Yankowsky crossed the floor to the PC party. He held onto the riding three years later when he edged out Liberal Johanne Tardiff by a scant 357 votes. In 2001, he defeated Liberal Bauni Mackay by 1,500 votes. Prior to Ewasiuk, the PC's Bill Diachuk served here from 1971-86.

In 2004, voter turnout was 44 per cent.