Olds was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1909 to 1963. It was named after the town of Olds, Alberta.
In 1963, the district was combined with the Didsbury electoral district to form Olds-Didsbury.
Olds history Members of the Legislative Assembly for OldsAssemblyYearsMemberPartySee Rosebud electoral districts from 1905-19092nd1909–1913Duncan MarshallLiberal3rd1913–19174th1917–19215th1921–1926Nelson SmithUnited Farmers6th1926–19307th1930–1935Frank Grisdale8th1935–1940Herbert AshSocial Credit1940-1940Independent Social Credit9th1940–1944Norman CookSocial Credit10th1944–194811th1948–19501950–1952Frederick Niddrie12th1952–195513th1955–19581959-1959Roderick Macleod14th1959–1963See Olds-Didsbury electoral district from 1963-1997 The electoral district of Olds was created and first contested for the 1909 Alberta general election. The electoral district included much of the area of the Rosebud electoral district contested in the 1905 election. The 1909 contest in Olds was a two-way fight, which was won by Liberal candidate Duncan Marshall. Marshall was appointed to the cabinet as Minister of Agriculture and Provincial Secretary shortly after the election.
Marshall was confirmed in a Ministerial by-election romping to an easy win over Socialist Candidate Samuel Welsh later that year. He lost his portfolios as the Alexander Rutherford government fell in 1910 due to the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal. Premier Arthur Sifton re-appointed him to that post.
Marshall ran for re-election in the 1913 general election and nearly lost his seat but was successful. He won by a bigger majority in 1917. In the 1921 general election he was defeated by Nelson Smith, a candidate for the United Farmers of Alberta in a hotly contested race. The 1921 saw the United Farmers elected to a majority government.
From 1924 to 1956, the district used instant-runoff voting to elect its MLA.A Report on Alberta Elections, 1905-1982
Smith was re-elected in 1926. He did not run for re-election in 1930. He was replaced by Frank Grisdale, who held the seat for the United Farmers. Grisdale was appointed Minister of Agriculture in 1934 and served in that portfolio for one year. Social Credit swept to power in the 1935 general election. Most voters in Olds went to the SC. Social Credit candidate Herbert Ash easily defeated Grisdale.
Ash served a single term in office. He was removed from caucus by the Aberhart controlled Social Credit Advisory Board that nominated candidates and not allowed to run under the Social Credit banner for the 1940 Alberta general election. He became an Independent Social Credit candidate and ran anyway. In the 1940 general election, both Ash and Grisdale ran as Independents. They were defeated by Social Credit candidate Norman Cook.
Cook held the district for three terms before dying in 1950. The Social Credit party fielded candidate Frederick Niddrie in a 1950 by-election who retained the seat for the SC party. Niddrie was re-elected in the 1952 and 1955 general elections before dying and vacating the seat in 1959.
In the third by-election held in the district, Social Credit fielded Roderick Macleod who retained the district for the SC party. He was elected for the second time in a year in the 1959 Alberta general election and kept the seat until the district was abolished in 1963, being rolled into the Olds-Didsbury district.
Election results
1909
1909 by-election
Duncan Marshall having just been elected to the Legislature was appointed to the cabinet as Minister of Agriculture and Provincial Secretary by Premier Alexander Rutherford. Under election laws in force at the time, a ministerial confirmation by-election had to be called. Marshall was the only new appointment to the Rutherford cabinet after the 1909 general election.
Marshall was unanimously confirmed as the Liberal candidate for the by-election and his portfolio endorsed by the membership at a nomination meeting attended by over 100 delegates on November 3, 1909. Speakers at the meeting included federal MP Michael Clark and Senator Peter Talbot.
The Conservatives decided not to oppose Duncan Marshall, but the Socialist Party led by Charles O'Brien, who had just won their first seat in the 1909 general election decided to run a candidate in Olds to oppose Marshall. O'Brien personally managed and ran the campaign of candidate Samuel Welsh.
The Socialists campaigned primarily a platform of nationalizing all farms to be controlled by the state. They also promoted abolishing wages and private property. The Socialists termed their campaign and supporters as "The Red Revolutionaries".
On election day, the riding saw a significant reduction in voter turnout with a light vote being polled compared to the 1909 general election. Marshall was re-elected with a landslide super majority taking almost 87% of the vote to keep his seat and ministerial post.
1913
1917
1921
1926
1930
1935
1940
1944
1948
1950 by-election
1952
1955
1959 by-election
1959
Plebiscite results
1957 liquor plebiscite 1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: OldsQuestion A: Do you approve additional types of outlets for the sale of beer, wine and spirituous liquor subject to a local vote?Ballot choiceVotes%No3,04461.76%Yes1,16438.24%Total votes3,044100%Rejected, spoiled and declined327,332 eligible electors, turnout 41.95% On October 30, 1957, a stand-alone plebiscite was held province wide in all 50 of the then current provincial electoral districts in Alberta. The government decided to consult Alberta voters to decide on liquor sales and mixed drinking after a divisive debate in the Legislature. The plebiscite was intended to deal with the growing demand for reforming antiquated liquor control laws.
The plebiscite was conducted in two parts. Question A asked in all districts, asked the voters if the sale of liquor should be expanded in Alberta, while Question B asked in a handful of districts within the corporate limits of Calgary and Edmonton asked if men and women were allowed to drink together in establishments.
Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Olds voted against the proposal by a wide margin. The voter turnout in the district was well below the province wide average of 46%.
Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957. The Social Credit government in power at the time did not considered the results binding. However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.
Municipal districts lying inside electoral districts that voted against the Plebiscite such as Olds were designated Local Option Zones by the Alberta Liquor Control Board and considered effective dry zones, business owners that wanted a licence had to petition for a binding municipal plebiscite in order to be granted a licence.
Historical boundaries and maps Olds 1909 boundariesBordering districtsNorthEastWestSouthInnisfailStettlerNoneCochrane, Didsbury, Rocky MountainLegal description from the Statutes of Alberta 1909, An Act respecting the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.riding map goes heremap in relation to other districts in rural Alberta goes hereOlds.—Commencing at the intersection of the Red Deer River with the northerly limit of township 34, range 21, west of the 4th meridian; thence west along the northerly limit of the 34th townships to the western boundary of the Province of Alberta; thence in a southerly direction along the said west boundary of the Province of Alberta to the northerly boundary of the 31st township; thence east along the northerly boundary of the said 31st townships to the intersection with the Red Deer River in the 6th range, west of the 5th meridian; thence following the Red Deer River down stream to the north boundary of township 32, range 5, west of the 5th meridian; thence east along the north boundary of the 32nd townships to the north-east corner of township 32, range 3m west of the 5th meridian; thence south along the east boundary of township 32, range 3, west of the 5th meridian to the north-east corner of township 31, range 3, west of the 5th meridian; thence east along the north boundary of the 31st townships to the Red Deer River in the 21st range, west of the 4th meridian; thence northerly up stream along the said Red Deer River to the point of commencement.Note: Boundaries came into force in 1909. Olds 1913 boundariesBordering districtsNorthEastWestSouthInnisfailHand Hills, StettlerEdson, Rocky MountainCochrane, Didsbury,Legal description from the Statutes of Alberta 1913, An Act to Amend the Act respecting the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.riding map goes heremap in relation to other districts in rural Alberta goes hereOlds.—Commencing at the intersection of the Red Deer River with the north limit of township 34, range 21, west of the 4th meridian; thence west along the north boundary of the 34th townships to the north-east corner of township 34, range 8 west of the 5th meridian; thence south along the meridian line between ranges 7 and 8, west of the 5th meridian to the north-east corner of township 31, range 8, west of the 5th meridian; thence east along the north boundary of the 31st townships to the intersection with the Red Deer River in range 6, west of the 5th meridian; thence following the Red Deer River downstream to the north boundary of township 32, range 5, west of the 5th meridian; thence east along the north boundary of the 32nd townships to the north-east corner of township 32, range 3, west of the 5th meridian; thence south along the east boundary of township 32, range 3, west of the 5th meridian to the north-east corner of township 31, range 3, west of the 5th meridian; thence east along the north boundary of the 31st townships to the Red Deer River in range 21, west of the 4th meridian; thence north up stream along said Red Deer River to the point of commencement.Note: Boundaries came into force in 1913 and remained unchanged until 1930. Olds 1930 boundariesBordering districtsNorthEastWestSouthInnisfailHand Hills, StettlerEdson, Rocky MountainCochrane, Didsbury,Legal description from the Statutes of Alberta 1930, An Act to Amend the Act respecting the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.riding map goes heremap in relation to other districts in rural Alberta goes hereOlds.—Commencing at the intersection of the Red Deer River with the north boundary of township 34, in range 21, west of the 4th meridian; thence west along the said north boundary of township 34, in range 31, west of the 4th meridian, to the meridian line between ranges 7 and 8, west of the 5th meridian to the north boundary of township 31; thence east along the said north boundary of townships 31 to the intersection with the Red Deer River in range 21, west of the 4th meridian; thence northerly up stream along the said Red Deer River to the point of commencement.Note: Boundaries came into force in 1930.