NDP's Shannon Corbett cruises to easy victory in Transcona byelection
Educator set to replace late Nello Altomare as MLA
NDP candidate Shannon Corbett will be the next MLA to represent Transcona in the Manitoba Legislature.
The longtime educator won the provincial byelection in the east Winnipeg riding with 3,616 votes — more than the rest of the field combined.
Polls closed at 8 p.m. on Tuesday in the race to replace Nello Altomare, who died in January after battling cancer.
"It's been great getting out to meet new people in Transcona, listening to their concerns," Corbett said Tuesday night. "I couldn't have asked for a better experience."
Premier Wab Kinew attributed the victory to Corbett's ability to speak on issues like health care and the trade war with the U.S., her "Transcona blue-collar work ethic," as well as her connections to the community through her background as an educator.
"So many people we talked to were like, 'Oh, you taught my nephew. You taught my grandkids,'" Kinew said. "It's just amazing to have another educator who's able to bring that knowledge."
Three other candidates were in contention in this byelection: the PC's Shawn Nason, the Liberals' Brad Boudreau and former Olympic speed skater Susan Auch, who ran as an independent.
Nason, who served as a city councillor for Transcona from 2018 to 2022, came in 2nd place with 1,569 votes. Public servant Boudreau and Auch got 217 and 208 votes, respectively.
'I just got my butt spanked'
The riding has leaned NDP for the most part, but it's also been led by the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals for one term each since its formation in the late 1960s.
The PCs' one term began in 2016. Nason said Tuesday night the party needs to look toward restructuring in Transcona after the loss.
"I just got my butt spanked," Nason said.
"It's an unfortunate situation we had the byelection," he later added. "I was friends with Nello. His and [my] politics didn't align but we got along. We had good conversations."
Altomare became education minister after the NDP was elected in 2023.
Corbett, who's worked as a vice-principal at Bernie Wolfe School and took leave of her job at Transcona Collegiate to run in the byelection, said she knew Altomare for a long time and worked in both of his campaigns.
"He was a fabulous leader, a fabulous mentor," she said. "I can't believe I get to follow in his footsteps and continue what he started in Transcona."
Including declined and rejected ballots, a total of 5,631 ballots were cast in the byelection, for a turnout of just over 31 per cent. Of those, 2,418 were cast in advance voting, which closed on Monday.
With files from Ian Froese