Vegreville - Wainwright

This is an agricultural riding in east-central Alberta. It stretches from the North Saskatchewan River in the north to the Battle River in the south, and from the Saskatchewan border in the east to Edmonton in the west. Major population centres include Vegreville, Wainwright and Lloydminster.

In the 2006 census, 28 per cent of residents listed German as their ethnic origin and 20 per cent listed Ukrainian. Less than four per cent are aboriginal. Eighty-eight per cent listed English as their mother tongue, and 1.5 per cent French.

Agriculture and the oil industry are the major employers. The average family income in the riding is $89,128 and the unemployment rate is 3.5 per cent, one of the lowest in the province.

This riding was formed in 2004, with half the population coming from the Lakeland riding, one-quarter each coming from Elk Island and Crowfoot and a handful coming from Wetaskiwin.

Population: 111,427 (2006 census; an increase of 3.4% since 2001)

Political History

In 2006, Conservative Leon Benoit won this riding over NDP candidate Len Lagault after Benoit received close to 75 per cent of the vote. In the previous election, Benoit was victorious over Liberal Duff Stewart by more than 28,410 votes.

In the former Lakeland riding, Benoit enjoyed three straight electoral victories with the Reform/Canadian Alliance.

Before Benoit's first win in 1993, Vegreville riding had seen 25 years of Tory control. Don Mazankowski was MP from 1968 to 1993. He held senior cabinet positions under prime ministers Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney.

• 2004, 2006 - CON