Edmonton - Mill Woods - Beaumont

This riding, in the southeast corner of Edmonton, also includes part of the county of Leduc. The riding runs from Whitemud Drive in the north to 20th Avenue in the south. It stretches from Calgary Trail Southwest in the west to Range Road 234 and 235 and Meridian Street Southwest in the east.

Twenty-seven per cent of the people are immigrants. Fourteen per cent are of Indian origin; another four per cent are ethnically Chinese. Twenty-eight per cent have a mother tongue other than English or French, with Punjabi heading the list at 8.5 per cent. Just 13 per cent of residents over age 25 have a university certificate or degree,

While many constituents work in downtown Edmonton, the riding's economy is largely driven by small business. Energy-related manufacturing is another major employer. The 2006 census shows an average family income of $86,986 and an unemployment rate of 4.4 per cent.

The Edmonton-Beaumont riding was created in the 2004 redistribution by combining 91,662 residents of Edmonton Southeast with 7,678 from Wetaskiwin, along with small parts of Elk Island, Edmonton Strathcona and Edmonton Southwest. The name was changed to Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont in September 2004.

Population: 112,919 (2006 census; an increase of 13.5% since 2001)

Political History

Conservative Mike Lake defeated Liberal Amarjit Grewal by more than 17,000 votes in the 2006 election, turning the riding over to the Conservative Party after more than a decade under the Liberals.

In 2004, Edmonton Southeast and Edmonton-Beaumont were the turf of David Kilgour. First elected in Edmonton-Strathcona in 1979 as a Tory, Kilgour was expelled from the Progressive Conservative caucus in 1990 after voting against the GST.

He turned Liberal and fended off a succession of Reform, Canadian Alliance and Conservative challengers. Kilgour's personal popularity helped to elect him in the riding despite his Liberal banner. In 2000, he defeated the Alliance's Tim Uppal by 4,717 votes. In 2004, he won by just 134 votes over Uppal, who was running as a Conservative.

Kilgour served as secretary of state for Latin America and Africa, and later for Asia-Pacific under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, but was not included in Paul Martin's cabinet.

He resigned from the Liberal caucus in April 2005, citing the sponsorship scandal and the proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. He then sat as an Independent.

Edmonton Southeast:

• 1988 - PC
• 1993, 1997, 2000 - LIB

Edmonton-Beaumont:

• 2004 - LIB
• 2006 - CON