Manitoba votes 2019: Thompson riding profile

• About the riding
• Voting history
• News stories from Thompson
• Meet the candidates
• More riding profiles from CBC Manitoba​​

The northeastern Manitoba riding of Thompson has been around since 1969, but the latest boundary redistribution more than doubled its size.

The new version of the riding includes a large area that was previously in the riding of Kewatinook (now spelled Keewatinook), and a small portion of what was previously the riding of Flin Flon, increasing its population by almost 3,000 people.

The updated boundaries are the Manitoba-Nunavut border to the north and Hudson Bay to the east. To the south, the boundary ends just south of Wabowden. The western boundary runs along the edge of Caribou River Provincial Park before pushing further west south of Flin Flon to include Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, an expansion that resulted from input at public hearings.

The riding includes its namesake, the northern hub of Thompson, as well as Churchill, Port Nelson and Wabowden.

Its population is 22,380, according to the province's 2018 riding profile (compiled from the 2016 census).

The median age of the riding is well below the overall provincial median, at 29.3 in Thompson compared to 38.3 provincewide, according to the 2018 riding profile and the 2016 census. The census found the median household income in the area is $87,908.

More facts about Thompson:

• The largest population centre in the riding is the city of Thompson, which has a population of more than 13,600, the city's website says.
• The city is described as a hub for northern Manitoba.
• The region is a centre of mining and hydroelectric operations in the province, with just over 17 per cent of Thompson residents employed in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector.
• Just under 59 per cent of residents identified as Indigenous in the 2016 census, according to the province's profile.

Voting history

The Thompson riding has voted NDP throughout most of its history, except for the 1977 election and the most recent provincial election, when voters chose Progressive Conservative candidate Kelly Bindle over NDP incumbent Steve Ashton by a slim margin of 185 votes.

• 1969 and 1973 elections: NDP.
• 1977 election: Progressive Conservative.  
• 1981 onward (nine general elections): NDP.
• 2016 election: Progressive Conservative.

Thompson in the news

Meet the candidates

The nominated candidates for the 2019 election are:

• Danielle Adams (NDP).
• Kelly Bindle (Progressive Conservative).
• Darla Contois (Liberal).
• Meagan Jemmett (Green Party).

Candidates become official when they meet criteria set out in the province's Elections Act, including providing a statement of disclosure. In Thompson, all candidates are official.

More CBC Manitoba riding profiles: