Manitoba votes 2019: Interlake-Gimli riding profile

Image | Interlake-Gimli

Caption: Manitobans head to the polls on Sept. 10. (CBC)

The central Manitoba riding of Interlake-Gimli has been around since 1981, but it got a new name in the most recent riding redistribution when boundary changes expanded it to include Gimli.
The riding runs between Lake Winnipeg in the east and Lake Manitoba in the west. Its southernmost point is just south of Twin Lakes Beach, and its northernmost point is just north of Gypsumville.
The riding includes Arborg, Ashern, Gypsumville and Oak Point, as well as new additions Gimli, Winnipeg Beach and Riverton.
The riding's population is 23,460, according to the province's 2018 riding profile(external link) (compiled from the 2016 census).
The median age of the riding is several years older than the overall provincial median, at 50.2 compared to 38.3 provincewide, according to the 2018 riding profile(external link) and the 2016 census(external link). The census found the median household income in the area is $55,838.
More facts about Interlake-Gimli:
  • The town of Gimli became the province's first Fair Trade Town in 2009, according to the rural municipality of Gimli's website(external link).
  • A quarter of the residents are aged 65 and older, compared to 15.6 per cent provincewide, according to the 2018 profile.(external link)
  • Twenty-three per cent of residents identified as Indigenous in the 2016 census, the profile says.
  • Less than two per cent of residents identified as visible minorities, the profile says.
  • Just over seven per cent of residents identified as immigrants, the profile says.

Voting history

The longtime Interlake NDP stronghold turned blue in the last provincial election, the first election in its history the riding hasn't voted NDP.
  • 1981 to 2011 (nine general elections): NDP.
  • 2016 election: Progressive Conservative.
(Before being absorbed in the new riding, however, Gimli voted into power PC MLA Ed Helwer for 15 years, from 1988-2003.)

Interlake-Gimli in the news

Meet the candidates

The nominated candidates for the 2019 election are:
  • Mary Lou Bourgeois (Liberal).
  • Dwight Harfield (Green Party).
  • Derek Johnson (Progressive Conservative).
  • Sarah Pinsent (NDP).
Candidates become official when they meet criteria set out in the province's Elections Act, including providing a statement of disclosure. In Interlake-Gimli, all four candidates(external link) are official.
Find more CBC Manitoba riding profiles here.