Edmonton - St. Albert

This riding in the northwest corner of Edmonton includes the city of St. Albert as well as the part of Edmonton bounded by the city limits in the north and west, by 97th Street in the east and by Highway 16, the CN Rail line and the Yellowhead Trail in the south.

Significant language groups include English, French, Chinese, Arabic and Ukrainian. About 17 per cent of residents are immigrants. Five per cent are aboriginal, mostly North American Indian or Métis.

Public administration and other government services are a major source of employment, as are retail trade, construction and manufacturing. According to the 2006 census, the average family income is $96,085 and unemployment is 4.5 per cent.

The riding of Edmonton-St. Albert was created in 2004 by combining slightly more than half of Edmonton North with slightly less than half of St. Albert. Another 363 former residents of Edmonton West were also included in the riding.

Population: 126,447 (2006 census; an increase of 11.8% since 2001)

Political History:

In the 2006 election, Conservative John Williams won his second term when he beat Liberal Stanley Haroun by 23,104 votes. In 2004, Williams defeated Liberal Moe Saeed by 17,249 votes.

Edmonton North was held by Reform/Canadian Alliance member Deborah Grey from 1997 to 2004. She became a member of the Conservative party when it was formed in 2003. In 2000, Grey beat Liberal Jim Jacuta by 7,277 votes.

This area had gone Liberal — by just 202 votes — in 1993 and had been won by the Tories in the four previous elections.

In the St. Albert riding, Williams won the previous three elections. In 2000, under the Canadian Alliance banner, 19,108 votes separated him from the runner-up, Liberal Bob Russell.

• 2004, 2006 - CON