 Saskatchewan electoral district | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Provincial electoral district | |||
| Legislature | Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan | ||
| MLA |
New Democratic | ||
| District created | 1908 | ||
| First contested | 1908 | ||
| Last contested | 2024 | ||
| Demographics | |||
| Population (2001) | 13,041 | ||
| Electors (2003) | 7,146 | ||
| Census division(s) | Division No. 18 | ||
| Census subdivision(s) | Beauval, Buffalo Narrows, Buffalo River Dene Nation 193, Canoe Lake 165, Chicken 224, Chicken 225, Clearwater River Dene 222, Clearwater River Dene Band 223, Cole Bay, Division No. 18, Unorganized, Dore Lake, Fond du Lac 227, Green Lake, Île-à-la-Crosse, Jans Bay, La Loche, La Plonge 192, Michel Village, Patuanak, Pinehouse, St. George's Hill, Stony Rapids, Turnor Lake, Wapachewunak 192D | ||
Athabasca is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located in the extreme northwest corner of the province. The major industries are tourism, mineral extraction, forestry, commercial fishing, and trapping. The Cluff Lake uranium mine is located in this constituency, as well as the Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park and the Clearwater River Provincial Park. The major communities are La Loche, Île-à-la-Crosse and Buffalo Narrows with populations of 2,136, 1,268, and 1,137 respectively.
The district was most recently contested in the 2020 general election, during which incumbent NDP MLA Buckley Belanger was re-elected, but a by-election is scheduled for February 15, 2022 to replace Belanger who resigned to run (unsuccessfully) for the Liberal Party of Canada in the riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River during the 2021 Canadian federal election.
The original Athabasca electoral district was created before the 1908 general election out of parts of Battleford, Redberry, Prince Albert and Kinistino, and consisted of the sparsely populated northern half of Saskatchewan. For the 1912 general election, the electoral district was divided in half, with the eastern half becoming Cumberland. The district's southern border was slightly altered before the 1917 general election, and was re-named Île-à-la-Crosse. Île-à-la-Crosse and Cumberland were re-joined prior to the 1934 general election, and the new combined riding was given the name Athabasca. Cumberland was split off again prior to the 1938 general election. Prior to the 1952 general election, Athabasca was shifted to the northeastern corner of the province, with most of its previous incarnation being transferred to Meadow Lake, with small parts transferred to the new Athabasca riding and Cumberland. This arrangement lasted until the 1971 general election, when the northern half of Meadow Lake was added back to the district. Finally, prior to the 1975 general election, the riding moved back to the northwestern corner of the province, adding back most of the territory in Meadow Lake, while losing it eastern half to Cumberland. The riding has remained in this configuration ever since.