1950s

The 1952 and 1955 elections were done by instant-runoff voting, although a second round was not needed in the district for either.

Alberta switched back to traditional first past the post elections in 1959, which can be seen in the dramatic drop in spoiled (incorrectly marked) ballots compared to previous elections.

1960s

1970s

1980s

1993 election

1957 liquor plebiscite

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.^[7]

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 should be allowed to drink together in establishments.^[6]

Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Bonnyville voted in favour of the proposal by an overwhelming majority. The district recorded a poor voter turnout, falling well below the province wide average of 46%.^[6]

Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957.^[6] The Social Credit government in power at the time did not consider the results binding.^[8] However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.^[9]

Municipal districts lying inside electoral districts that voted against the plebiscite were designated Local Option Zones by the Alberta Liquor Control Board and considered effective dry zones. Business owners who wanted a license had to petition for a binding municipal plebiscite in order to be granted a license.^[10]