Crowfoot

This rural riding sprawls across east-central Alberta, from the Red Deer River and Bow River in the south to the Battle River in the north. The Saskatchewan border forms the eastern boundary. The largest communities are Stettler, Camrose and Drumheller.

Seven per cent of people in the riding are immigrants. Three per cent are aboriginals. Eighty-seven per cent are anglophone, under one per cent francophone, and 11 per cent have a mother tongue other than one of the official languages. German leads the latter category, as the mother tongue of almost six per cent of the population.

Agriculture is the main industry here, though Drumheller, as the home of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, has a significant tourist industry. There is also a federal penitentiary in Drumheller. The 2006 census shows an average family income of $82,875 and an unemployment rate of three per cent, the lowest in the province.

The Crowfoot riding was established in 1966. In 1996, about one-third of the residents of the Vegreville riding were redistributed here. Then, in 2004, about 30 per cent of the riding was carved away, while 34,705 people were added from Wild Rose.

Population: 114,825 (2006 census; an increase of 10.3% since 2001)

Political History

The incumbent, Kevin Sorenson, gained office with the Canadian Alliance in 2000. He won in 2004 with more than 80 per cent of the vote. His winning streak continued in the 2006 election, when Sorenson defeated NDP Candidate Ellen Parker by more than 39,300 votes.

For the two terms prior to 2000, Crowfoot was held by the Reform Party's Jack Ramsay. Ramsay was found guilty of attempted rape in 1999. He was booted from the Reform caucus and banned from the Canadian Alliance.

Tories were elected in this riding from 1968 until 1993. For the first 11 of those years, Jack Horner was MP. Horner lost the Conservative leadership to Joe Clark in 1976 and was recruited to the Liberal Party by Pierre Trudeau in 1977 with the promise of a cabinet post - minister of industry, trade and commerce. Horner was defeated by Progressive Conservative Arnold Malone in the 1979 election. Malone continued as MP until 1993.

• 1968-88 inclusive - PC
• 1993, 1997 - REF
• 2000 - CA
• 2004, 2006 - CON