Edmonton Centre

This is an urban riding in north-central Edmonton. It runs from the CN Rail line and Yellowhead Trail in the north to Whitemud Drive and the North Saskatchewan River in the south. It stretches from 97th Street in the east to 170th Street in the west.

Twenty per cent of residents are immigrants, and seven per cent are aboriginal. English is the mother tongue of 75 per cent of the population, French of two per cent, and German of 1.5 per cent. Aboriginal languages are spoken as a mother tongue by less than one per cent.

Fifty-seven per cent of dwellings are occupied by renters rather than owners. Just over 24 per cent of residents over age 25 have a university certificate or degree.

The main employer here is the service sector, with many companies providing services to the petroleum industry. Manufacturing and construction also provide a significant number of jobs. The average family income is $79,493 and unemployment is 5.1 per cent.

Edmonton Centre was formed in 2004 by taking the bulk of Edmonton West and combining it with a sizable segment of Edmonton Southwest and a small part of Edmonton Centre East.

Population: 120,326 (2006 census; an increase of 3.8% since 2001)

Political History

From 1993 until 2004, voters chose Liberal Anne McLellan. Their support, however, was lukewarm. McLellan gained office in 1993 with just 12 votes more than the Reform Party's Richard Kayler. In 1997, she won by 1,400 votes. Her margin of victory in 2000 was 733 votes. In December 2003, Paul Martin named McLellan deputy prime minister and minister of public safety and emergency preparedness. A year later, in the 2004 election, McLellan came in just 721 votes ahead of Conservative Laurie Hawn.

In the 2006 election, McLellan wasn't so lucky and lost her seat when Hawn defeated her by 3,609 votes.

Prior to 1993, Edmonton West and Edmonton Northwest were Tory territory for 36 years. Progressive Conservative Marcel Lambert held the seat from 1957 to 1984. Fellow Tory Murray Dorin took over until 1993.

Edmonton Northwest:

• 1988 - PC
• 1993 - LIB

Edmonton West:

• 1997, 2000 - LIB

Edmonton Centre:

• 2004 - LIB
• 2006 - CON