1909 жылғы Альберта провинциясының жалпы сайлауы

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The 1909 Alberta general election was the second general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It took place on March 22, 1909, to elect 41 members to the 2nd Alberta Legislature. The incumbent Liberal Party led by Premier Alexander C. Rutherford achieved a re election victory, securing a majority government by winning 36 out of the 41 seats in the legislature with just under 60 per cent of the popular vote. The Conservative Party led by Albert Robertson once again formed the official opposition, with only two members, and Robertson himself was defeated in his own seat in High River. The remaining three seats were divided among smaller parties and independent candidates. Prior to the election, the Legislative Assembly passed An Act respecting the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in February 1909 which created an additional 16 seats in the Legislature, expanding from 25 members to a total of 41, and redistributed the boundaries of the provincial electoral districts. As part of the redistricting process, the Crowsnest Pass region was separated from the Pincher Creek electoral district and established as its own district named Rocky Mountain. This new district had a significant population of coal miners, which was reflected in the election outcome with the election of a Socialist candidate. Due to the increased population and growth of Edmonton and Calgary, each city was granted an additional seat in the legislature. As a result, multi seat districts were established in these cities, allowing voters to cast up to two votes using the block voting system. In Edmonton, two Liberal candidates were elected to represent the two seats, while in Calgary, one Liberal and one Conservative candidate emerged victorious. This marked the first instance in Alberta's political history where mixed representation, with members from different parties, arose from a single district. The election in the Athabasca electoral district was conducted on July 15, 1909, due to the remoteness of the riding. Despite the election being an overwhelming success for the Liberal government of Premier Rutherford, his administration would be embroiled with the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal shortly after the election. The scandal divided the Liberal Party and forced Rutherford to resign in 1910. Arthur Sifton, Alberta's chief justice was selected as the second Premier of Alberta in an effort to restore party unity.

The 1905 Alberta general election as a fiercely contested battle between the formidable Liberal machine led by Rutherford and the less organized Conservative Party under R. B. Bennett. The Liberals had the advantage of incumbency, as Rutherford had been appointed as the first Premier, and their superior organizing ability. These factors contributed to a resounding victory for the Liberals, who won 22 out of the 25 seats in the Legislature. In contrast, the Conservative Party only managed to win two seats. Historian Lewis Thomas argues that the overwhelming Liberal triumph can be attributed to their incumbent status. The Liberal government, in its two months of power, had not faced any scandals or policy failures, making it difficult for the opposition to effectively criticize and challenge them. Additionally, the Liberals were able to leverage their control over the machinery of government, both at the provincial and federal levels. Thomas notes that there are a few surviving written suggestions of Liberal appointments, indicating their effective exercise of patronage powers. Furthermore, Thomas argues that the Conservative Party's strong positions on issues such as provincial control over the school system and public lands did not resonate significantly with the voters. The Conservatives attributed their defeat to the Roman Catholic vote, which was perceived to be sympathetic to Wilfrid Laurier due to his support for separate schools. Bennett himself believed that his loss in Calgary by a margin of 37 votes to William Henry Cushing was influenced by Roman Catholic interests, the labor vote, and his absence from the district during campaigning. Consequently, Bennett promptly resigned as leader and temporarily withdrew from politics.

During the first session of the Alberta Legislature, four by elections were held, with three taking place in 1906. In each of these by elections, the incumbent Liberal party managed to retain the seats. The first by election occurred in Lethbridge after Liberal Leverett George DeVeber's appointment to the Senate of Canada on March 8, 1906. Liberal candidate William Simmons emerged victorious with 43.9 per cent of the vote, defeating Labour candidate Frank Henry Sherman who received 37.4 per cent, and Conservative candidate A. E. Keffer who secured 18.7 per cent of the vote. Following the appointment of Matthew McCauley, the Vermilion representative, as the Warden of the Edmonton Penitentiary, Liberal James Bismark Holden was acclaimed as his successor on July 16, 1906. Similarly, when Charles Stuart, the Gleichen representative, was appointed to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories in October 1906, a by election was held, resulting in Liberal candidate Ezra Riley securing 56.3 per cent of the vote and defeating Conservative candidate William L. Walsh. A significant surprise occurred in the 1909 by election in Lethbridge when William Simmons resigned to run in the 1908 Canadian federal election in Medicine Hat. Labour candidate Donald McNabb was acclaimed as the representative for Lethbridge on January 8, 1909, becoming Alberta's first Labour representative.