Expansion and progress marked the first term of Premier Alexander Cameron Rutherford from 1905 to 1909. And as historian David Leonard points out, Rutherford ran his next election campaign on railways:

Rutherford ran his campaign on the slogan, ?Rutherford, Reliability and Railways?. By this time, the Canadian Northern and the Grand Trunk had arrived in Edmonton. The CPR had arrived in Calgary in 1883, and in 1891 extended a line north to Edmonton. So railway and railway development was in the air everywhere, particularly to the northern regions of the province. Rutherford promised people that if elected, he would extend a railway to Waterways and to Peace River.

But the Opposition didn?t like the tactics of Rutherford and his Liberal government The Opposition was still Conservative and campaigning on patriotism, protection of eastern industry, emphasizing their distinctiveness from the big bad Americans to the south. And criticizing the government by some of the recklessness about which it approached affairs, the building of roads, the handing out of contracts, and particularly the guaranteeing of bonds to big railway companies. The Canadian Northern and the Grand Trunk in particular seemed to be in a bit of an unusual situation in that from Manitoba through Edmonton and into the mountains, they virtually paralleled each other. Was there a need for two lines? And here the provincial government was giving bond guarantees to both of them. So the Conservatives were standing more for reliability, stability and not the mass spending and the mass speculation that the Liberals were accused of engaging in.

With the election called for March 22, 1909, the government granted a second riding for the City of Calgary. Edmonton still had more, however, and the liberal-leaning north called the shots.

Fifty-nine percent of the people voted for Rutherford, Reliability and Railways. And that broke down into proportionately fewer ridings, but the number of ridings had increased. And in the election of March 22, 1909, the Liberals took thirty-six of forty-one ridings.

In 1909, Rutherford took a rapidly growing province into a new economic boom. But having won the election on railways, he was soon defeated by them on another front.

On the Heritage Trail, I?m Cheryl Croucher.