 Manitoba electoral district | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Provincial electoral district | |||
| Legislature | Legislative Assembly of Manitoba | ||
| MLA |
Progressive Conservative | ||
| District created | 1879 | ||
| First contested | 1879 | ||
| Last contested | 2023 | ||
| Demographics | |||
| Population (2021) | 25,185 | ||
| Electors (2023) | 13,279 | ||
| Area (km²) | 7,329 | ||
| Pop. density (per km²) | 3.4 | ||
| Region | Eastman | ||
La Vérendrye is a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1879, and has existed since that time, making it one of the oldest ridings in Manitoba.[1]
Located in the southeastern region of the province, it is bordered within Manitoba by the neighbouring electoral divisions of Lac du Bonnet, Dawson Trail, Steinbach, Springfield-Ritchot, Midland, and Borderland to the west and north;[2][3] by the province of Ontario to the east; and by the U.S. state of Minnesota to most of the south.[1]
Communities in the riding include Buffalo Point (and Buffalo Point First Nation), Gardenton, Grunthal, Kleefeld, La Broquerie, Marchand, Middlebro, New Bothwell, Otterburne, Piney, St. Malo, St-Pierre-Jolys, Sarto, Sprague, Stuartburn, Sundown, Vassar, Vita, and Woodridge.[2] The Lake of the Woods' Buffalo Bay is also in the riding.[4][2]
La Vérendrye was a hotly contested riding between the Liberals and Conservatives in its earliest years. After 1922, it became dominated by the Progressives, who later became the Liberal-Progressives before metamorphosizing into the Liberals again. It remained with the Liberals even as the party dwindled to third-party status in the 1960s. The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba (PCs) seized the riding in 1973 and held it for the next three decades, during which time it was usually fairly safe for the PCs.
In the 1999 election, Ron Lemieux became the first New Democrat to be elected for the constituency. He was re-elected in the 2003 election with almost 60% of the popular vote. The boundary changes of 2008 greatly changed the borders of the riding, which contributed to the decisive victory of PC candidate Dennis Smook in the 2011 election.[1] Lemieux was personally re-elected to the newly created riding of Dawson Trail.
The La Vérendrye riding has remained under PCs since 2011, with Konrad Narth most recently being elected in October 2023 to replace retiring MLA Smook.[5][6][1]
The riding is named for Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de La Vérendrye, explorer and fur trader under whose authority Fort Rouge was built in 1738 in what is now Winnipeg.[7]
- ^ a b c d CBC News. 2023 September 1. "What to know about the La Vérendrye riding for Manitoba's 2023 election." CBC News. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ a b c "Provincial Electoral Division: La Vérendrye detailed map." Elections Manitoba. 2018. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ "La Vérendrye Profile". www.electionsmanitoba.ca. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
- ^ "Fishing Buffalo Bay". Buffalo Point Resort: Lake of the Woods Resorts, Cottages, Golf, Fishing. September 19, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
- ^ "New candidate Konrad Narth elected MLA for La Verendrye". SteinbachOnline. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
- ^ "Elections Manitoba - Manitoba's 43rd General Election - October 3, 2023 - Unofficial Results". results.electionsmanitoba.ca. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
- ^ "La Vérendrye | Provincial Plaques | Historic Resources Branch". www.gov.mb.ca. Retrieved October 12, 2023.