Innisfail-Sylvan Lake


Innisfail-Sylvan Lake is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. It is one of 87 current districts mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.

The district was created in the 1993 boundary redistribution from the old Innisfail electoral district that had existed since the province was created in 1905. It is located in rural central Alberta just south of the city of Red Deer. Communities include Innisfail, Sylvan Lake, Penhold, Bowden, Delburne, Elnora, Springbrook, Spruce View, Markerville and Dickson.

In recent decades the district has elected Progressive Conservative candidates with strong majorities, but in the 2012 election the district elected Wildrose Candidate Kerry Towle. After crossing the floor to the Progressive Conservatives Towle was defeated in the 2015 election by Wildrose candidate Don MacIntyre.

The electoral district was created in the 1993 boundary redistribution primarily from the old electoral district of Innisfail. The 2010 boundary redistribution saw a portion of the district west of Sylvan Lake transferred to Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre and portions of land that were outside of the city of Red Deer in the Red Deer-North transferred in.[1]

The electoral district was created in the 1993 boundary redistribution from the old Innisfail riding. The first election held in 1993 saw incumbent Progressive Conservative Gary Severtson win the electoral district with over 50% of the popular vote. He was re-elected again in the 1997 general election, with an increase in his margin of victory nearly winning a landslide. Severtson retired at dissolution in 2001.

Luke Ouellette won his first election as a Progressive Conservative candidate in 2001. In that election he won nearly 75% of the popular vote to hold the seat. He was re-elected to a second term in the 2004 election. He fended off a strong challenge from Alberta Alliance leader Randy Thorsteinson.