Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock


Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock is a current provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting. It was contested for the first time in the 2019 Alberta election.

Geography

The district is located in northern Alberta, containing the communities of Swan Hills, Barrhead, Westlock, Athabasca, and Smoky Lake. It stretches east into part of St. Paul County. Major transportation routes include Alberta Highways 2, 18, 28, and 33.

History

The district was created in 2017 when the Electoral Boundaries Commission recommended consolidating four electoral districts into three in northeastern Alberta, placing most of Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock and Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater, along with a small part of Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills, into the new district. The Commission recommended naming the district Athabasca-Barrhead, but the Assembly decided to retain Westlock in the name.
The district first elected United Conservative MLA Glenn van Dijken who had previously been elected to Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock as a Wildrose candidate in 2015. Glenn van Dijken defeated his next closest challenger NDP candidate, day home operator and former Smoky Lake councillor Therese Taschuck by over 12,000 votes.

Electoral results

2019 general election