Riding Profiles
LESSER SLAVE LAKE (63)Current MLA: Pearl Calahasen (PC) Candidates:
Riding Profile:Lesser Slave Lake is a vast riding in north-central Alberta, stretching almost 400 kilometres from top to bottom and 300 kilometres from side to side. Before the 2004 redistribution, the riding touched the N.W.T. border, though it now stops shy of it. The riding has expanded east, taking in a vast swath of what used to be Athabasca-Wabasca. Affected settlements include Flatbush, Hondo, Smith, Sandy Lake, Wabasca-Desmarais and Chipewyan Lake. Major communities in the riding include Slave Lake and High Prairie. With just 27,577 people, this riding is Alberta's second-least populous electoral district. Just over half of Lesser Slave Lake voters are aboriginal, the highest percentage in Alberta. Incomes are somewhat low, at $51,739 for the average household, and about 14 per cent of residents are considered low income. Forty per cent don't have a high school diploma. More than four in five were born in Alberta, while fewer than three per cent are immigrants. Agriculture, followed by educational services, is the major employer. (2001 census) Political History:Tories have dominated here for the past three decades. For almost two of those decades the MLA has been Pearl Calahasen, the former aboriginal affairs minister. Calahasen was originally elected in 1989, when she defeated Liberal Denise Wahlstrom by almost 1,000 votes. A 1993 rematch saw Calahasen's margin increase to 1,167 votes, and then in 1997 she beat Liberal Ralph Chalifoux by 2,250 votes. In 2001, Calahasen won against Liberal Rick Noel with 4,766 votes to his 1,429. She won in 2004 with a similar margin: 3,894 votes to Alberta Alliance candidate Valerie Rahn's 977. Calahasen's predecessor was Tory Larry Shaben, who served from 1975-89 and held various cabinet posts. In 2004, voter turnout was 31.4 per cent. 
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| Party | Elected | Leading | Total | Vote Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC | 72 | 0 | 72 | 52.66% |
| LIB | 9 | 0 | 9 | 26.37% |
| NDP | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8.52% |
| WAP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.77% |
| GRN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.58% |
| OTH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.11% |
- Updated: Mar 4, 2008, 12:02 MST
Riding Profiles
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