The district was created in 1996 from the Beaver River and Vegreville ridings.
The riding was re-created in 2013 from these same districts (Athabasca having been renamed to Fort McMurray-Athabasca) with a new set of boundaries, no longer including the northerly communities of Lac La Biche and Cold Lake, but extending further west to the towns of Athabasca and Waskatenau.