| Bruce | |
| Province: | Alberta |
| Prov-Status: | defunct |
| Prov-Created: | 1940 |
| Prov-Abolished: | 1963 |
| Prov-Election-First: | 1940 |
| Prov-Election-Last: | 1959 |
Bruce was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1940 to 1963.[1]
The Bruce electoral district was formed from the Vegreville, Sedgewick, Camrose electoral districts prior to the 1940 Alberta general election. The Acadia electoral district would be abolished and the Vermilion and Vegreville-Bruce electoral districts would be formed in its place prior to the 1963 Alberta general election.
| 1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Bruce[2] | ||||
| Question A: Do you approve additional types of outlets for the sale of beer, wine and spirituous liquor subject to a local vote? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot choice | Votes | % | ||
| bgcolor=red | No | 1,691 | 63.31% | |
| bgcolor=green | Yes | 980 | 36.69% | |
| align=right colspan=2 | Total votes | 2,671 | 100% | |
| align=right colspan=2 | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 21 | ||
| 6,108 eligible electors, turnout 44.07% | ||||
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.[2]
Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Bruce voted against the proposal by an overwhelming margin. The voter turnout in the district was almost equal to the province wide average of 46%.[2]
Official district returns were released to the public on December 31, 1957.[2] The Social Credit government in power at the time did not consider the results binding.[4] However the results of the vote led the government to repeal all existing liquor legislation and introduce an entirely new Liquor Act.[5]
Municipal districts lying inside electoral districts that voted against the plebiscite such as Bruce 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.[6]