The district was located in the southwest part of Alberta, stretching from the British Columbia border to the outer northern suburbs of Calgary.

Within the large riding were: the City of Airdrie, the towns of Olds, Didsbury, Cochrane, Canmore, Sundre, and Banff, the Municipal District of Bighorn No.

The riding was bounded by British Columbia to the west, Calgary to the southeast and Red Deer to the northeast.

The electoral district was created in 1986 from Bow River, Red Deer and Macleod ridings.

Since its creation Wild Rose was one of the safest ridings in the country for the Conservative Party and its predecessors, which had won every election since 1993 by lopsided margins.