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Tom Monto

STV in Cowtown -- STV-PR's first use to elect Calgary MLAs, 1926 election

In the 1926 election for the first time, Calgary elected MLAs through Single Transferable Voting.


STV had been used in Calgary city elections since 1917, but this was the first time it was used to elect law-makers.


In the First Count, the five top spots were held by two Conservatives, two Liberals and Parkyn.


Vote transfers elevated a Dominion Labour Party candidate to the top positions, while Liberal Nellie McClung did not receive many vote transfers and fell out of the top runners.


In the end, Calgary elected a balanced and mixed crop of MLAs - two Conservatives, a Liberal, a DLP-er and an Independent-Labour man.


About 80 percent of the voters saw their vote used to actually elect someone. About half the voters saw their first choice elected; the other 30 percent saw their vote used to elect someone they preferred over others.


sources:

A Report on Alberta Elections 1905-1982;

my booklet When Canada had Proportional Representation, STV in Western Canada 1917-1971


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