Manitoba votes 2019: Keewatinook riding profile
CBC News | Posted: August 14, 2019 7:30 PM | Last Updated: August 14, 2019
- About the riding
- Voting history
- News stories from Keewatinook
- Meet the candidates
- More riding profiles from CBC Manitoba
This riding has been around since 1920, but it's changed a lot since then. Until 2008, the riding was called Rupertsland. Its boundaries have changed over the years, including a significant redrawing in the most recent boundary updates by the Manitoba Electoral Division Boundaries Commission in 2018.
The riding covers a large part of northeastern Manitoba, bounded to the north by Hudson Bay and the Nelson River and to the east by the Manitoba-Ontario border. It's home to many First Nations, including Bunibonibee Cree Nation, Shamattawa First Nation, Sagkeeng First Nation and Hollow Water First Nation, as well as several provincial parks.
Its population is 20,815, according to the province's 2018 riding profile.
The median age of the riding's population is 22.3, according to the 2018 riding profile prepared by the Manitoba Bureau of Statistics, based on information from the 2016 census.
More facts about Keewatinook:
- The riding's name was previously spelled Kewatinook, which the Electoral Boundaries Commission says was an incorrect spelling.
- Keewatinook is the largest riding in the province, according to the Electoral Boundaries Commission, although the new boundaries drawn by the commission in 2018 reduced its size by seven per cent.
- More than 97 per cent of residents identified as Indigenous in the 2016 census.
- Just over 37 per cent of residents said they spoke an Indigenous language most often at home.
Voting history
Starting in 1969, the riding voted New Democrat for decades, straight through until the 2016 election, when Liberal MLA Judy Klassen defeated longtime NDP MLA Eric Robinson, with 49 per cent of the vote to his 39 per cent. Klassen isn't seeking re-election in the Manitoba Legislature this year, saying she's focused on earning the federal Liberal nomination instead.
- 1958, 1959, 1962 and 1966 elections: Progressive Conservative.
- 1969-2011 elections (12 elections total): NDP.
- 2016 election: Liberal.
Keewatinook in the news
Meet the candidates
The nominated candidates for the 2019 election are:
- Ian Bushie (NDP).
- Arnold Flett (Progressive Conservative).
- Jason Harper (Liberal).
Candidates become official when they meet criteria set out in the province's Elections Act, including providing a statement of disclosure. In Keewatinook, all three candidates are official.