Cypress (former Alberta provincial electoral district)
# Cypress (former Alberta provincial electoral district)

Cypress was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1926 to 1986.

## History

The Cypress electoral district was formed prior to the 1926 Alberta general election when the Medicine Hat electoral district was split, with the territory surrounding the City of Medicine Hat being retained in the Medicine Hat district and the remaining territory south of the city to the United States border forming the new Cypress district.

The Cypress electoral district would be abolished prior to the 1986 Alberta general election, with a small portion in the south-east becoming part of Taber-Warner and the remaining portions becoming the Cypress-Redcliff electoral district.

### Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Cypress :

| Assembly | Years | Member | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| See Medicine Hat electoral district from 1905-1926 |||||
| 6th | 1926–1930 | Perren E. Baker | United Farmers |
| 7th | 1930–1935 | Perren E. Baker | United Farmers |
| 8th | 1935–1940 | August W. Flamme | Social Credit |
| 9th | 1940–1944 | Fay D. Jackson | Independent |
| 10th | 1944–1948 | Edith B. Thurston | Social Credit |
| 11th | 1948–1952 | James M. Underdahl | Social Credit |
| 12th | 1952–1955 | James M. Underdahl | Social Credit |
| 13th | 1955–1959 | Harry E. Strom | Social Credit |
| 14th | 1959–1963 | Harry E. Strom | Social Credit |
| 15th | 1963–1967 | Harry E. Strom | Social Credit |
| 16th | 1967–1971 | Harry E. Strom | Social Credit |
| 17th | 1971–1975 | Harry E. Strom | Social Credit |
| 18th | 1975–1979 | Alan W. Hyland | Progressive Conservative |
| 19th | 1979–1982 | Alan W. Hyland | Progressive Conservative |
| 20th | 1982–1986 | Alan W. Hyland | Progressive Conservative |
| See Cypress-Redcliff electoral district from 1986-1993 and Taber-Warner electoral district from 1986-1997 |||||

## Election results

### 1926 general election

vte1926 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | United Farmers | Perren E. Baker | 1,220 | 57.12% | – |
| | Liberal | H. H. Foster | 741 | 34.69% | – |
| | Conservative | S. Ervine | 175 | 8.19% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 2,136 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 129 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 3,072 | 73.73% | – |
| | United Farmers pickup new district. | United Farmers pickup new district. | United Farmers pickup new district. | United Farmers pickup new district. | United Farmers pickup new district. | United Farmers pickup new district. | United Farmers pickup new district. |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1926 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1930 general election

vte1930 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | United Farmers | Perren E. Baker | 1,315 | 55.37% | -1.75% |
| | Liberal | Robert C. Black | 1,060 | 44.63% | 9.94% |
| Total | Total | Total | 2,375 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 110 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 3,238 | 76.74% | 3.01% |
| | United Farmers hold | United Farmers hold | Swing | Swing | -5.84% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1930 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1935 general election

vte1935 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Social Credit | August W. Flamme | 1,689 | 54.05% | – |
| | Liberal | Robert C. Black | 798 | 25.54% | -19.10% |
| | United Farmers | Perren E. Baker | 587 | 18.78% | -36.58% |
| | Independent | J. H. Duncan | 51 | 1.63% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,125 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 121 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 3,909 | 83.04% | 6.29% |
| | Social Credit gain from United Farmers | Social Credit gain from United Farmers | Swing | Swing | 8.89% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1935 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1940 general election

vte1940 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Independent | Fay D. Jackson | 2,065 | 55.33% | – |
| | Social Credit | August W. Flamme | 1,667 | 44.67% | -9.38% |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,732 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 108 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,102 | 75.26% | -7.77% |
| | Independent gain from Social Credit | Independent gain from Social Credit | Swing | Swing | -8.92% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1944 general election

vte1944 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Social Credit | Edith B. Thurston | 1,747 | 51.01% | 6.34% |
| | Independent | Charles M. Moore | 973 | 28.41% | – |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | T. A. Reynar | 705 | 20.58% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,425 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 108 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 4,723 | 74.80% | -0.46% |
| | Social Credit gain from Independent | Social Credit gain from Independent | Swing | Swing | 5.97% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1944 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1948 general election

vte1948 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Social Credit | James M. Underdahl | 1,723 | 57.88% | 6.87% |
| | Liberal | Francis J. Halpin | 844 | 28.35% | – |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | William George McFall | 410 | 13.77% | -6.81% |
| Total | Total | Total | 2,977 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 123 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 4,476 | 69.26% | -5.55% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 3.46% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1948 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1952 general election

vte1952 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Social Credit | James M. Underdahl | 2,240 | 68.13% | 10.25% |
| | Liberal | Bernhard J. Evenson | 1,048 | 31.87% | 3.52% |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,288 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 166 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,645 | 61.19% | -8.07% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 3.36% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1952 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1955 general election

vte1955 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Social Credit | Harry E. Strom | 2,668 | 68.89% | 0.76% |
| | Liberal | John Flaig | 1,205 | 31.11% | -0.76% |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,873 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 167 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,632 | 71.73% | 10.55% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 0.76% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1955 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1959 general election

vte1959 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Social Credit | Harry E. Strom | 3,199 | 79.38% | 10.49% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Wayne N. Anderson | 831 | 20.62% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,030 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 15 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,711 | 70.83% | -0.90% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | 10.49% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1959 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1963 general election

vte1963 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Social Credit | Harry E. Strom | 3,030 | 77.87% | -1.51% |
| | Liberal | Alvin H. Reiman | 861 | 22.13% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,891 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 8 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,912 | 65.95% | -4.88% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -1.51% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1963 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1967 general election

vte1967 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Social Credit | Harry E. Strom | 2,577 | 77.02% | -0.85% |
| | New Democratic | William G. McFall | 769 | 22.98% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,346 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 16 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,558 | 60.49% | -5.46% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -0.85% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1967 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1971 general election

vte1971 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Social Credit | Harry E. Strom | 2,777 | 60.26% | -16.75% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Dave Berntson | 1,635 | 35.48% | – |
| | New Democratic | Tony de Souza | 196 | 4.25% | -18.73% |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,608 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 9 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,860 | 78.79% | 18.30% |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | -14.63% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1971 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1975 general election

vte1975 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Progressive Conservative | Alan W. Hyland | 2,065 | 53.32% | 17.84% |
| | Social Credit | Barry Berhart | 1,447 | 37.36% | -22.90% |
| | New Democratic | Allen Eng | 202 | 5.22% | 0.96% |
| | Independent | Margaret Dragland | 159 | 4.11% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,873 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 8 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 5,741 | 67.60% | -11.19% |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from Social Credit | Progressive Conservative gain from Social Credit | Swing | Swing | -4.41% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1975 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1979 general election

vte1979 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Progressive Conservative | Alan W. Hyland | 3,353 | 57.00% | 3.69% |
| | Social Credit | Vern Beck | 1,907 | 32.42% | -4.94% |
| | New Democratic | Clarence Smith | 499 | 8.48% | 3.27% |
| | Liberal | Carl Pattison | 123 | 2.09% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 5,882 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 11 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 8,767 | 67.22% | -0.38% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 4.31% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1979 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1982 general election

vte1982 Alberta general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Progressive Conservative | Alan W. Hyland | 4,170 | 64.38% | 7.38% |
| | Independent | Orville Reber | 1,080 | 16.67% | – |
| | New Democratic | Rudolf Schempp | 637 | 9.83% | 1.35% |
| | Western Canada Concept | Gifford Woodcock | 590 | 9.11% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 6,477 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 11 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 9,278 | 69.93% | 2.71% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 11.56% |
| Source(s) Source: "Cypress Official Results 1982 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

## Plebiscite results

### 1957 liquor plebiscite

1957 Alberta liquor plebiscite results: Cypress :

| 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 | Ballot choice | Votes | % |
| | No | 1,339 | 55.13% |
| | Yes | 1,090 | 44.87% |
| Total votes | Total votes | 2,429 | 100% |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 18 | 18 |
| 5,361 eligible electors, turnout 46.64% ||||

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.

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.

Province wide Question A of the plebiscite passed in 33 of the 50 districts while Question B passed in all five districts. Cypress voted against the proposal by a close margin. The voter turnout in the district was almost equal to the province wide average of 46%.

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

Municipal districts lying inside electoral districts that voted against the plebiscite such as Cypress 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.

