For 58 of its 62 years, the Brandon–Souris riding has remained a Tory stronghold. This election, Conservative incumbent Larry Maguire will seek to win his first full term after defeating Liberal Rolf Dinsdale in a 2013 byelection.
Candidates
Conservative: Larry Maguire (I)
Green: David Neufeld
Liberal: Jodi Wyman
NDP: Melissa Joy Wastasecoot
Last Election
Conservative MP Merv Tweed won his fourth consecutive seat in the riding, defeating NDP candidate Jean Luc Bouché by more than 13,000 votes.
Tweed retired in 2013, leading to a November byelection in which Tory candidate Larry Maguire defeated Liberal Rolf Dinsdale by 396 votes.
History
- Created from Brandon and Souris ridings in 1952.
- Brandon had Tory notable Walter Dinsdale, who won a 1951 byelection and held Brandon-Souris until his death in November of 1982; also a minister of northern affairs in 1960.
- The only candidate from another party to hold the riding was Liberal Glen McKinnon, from 1993 to 1997.
Boundaries
- Brandon–Souris is the second largest riding in Manitoba.
- The southwest corner of Manitoba with U.S. to the south, Saskatchewan to the west and Brandon to the north.
- Its centres include Brandon, Souris, Killarney, Virden, Elkhorn, Wawanesa, Glenboro, Waskada, Turtle Mountain, part of Spruce Woods Provincial Park and Oak Lake reserve.
Industries
- Business in farm implements, fertilizer production and food processors such as Maple Leaf.
- Sixty factories from metal products to petrochemicals, publishing and pharmaceuticals.
- Home to Agriculture Canada Research Station, hospital, community college and Brandon University.
- Virden and Melita are in the oil industry, which contributes $250 million annually plus $15 million in royalties, production taxes and oil and gas rights.
- Agriculture employs a third of the workers, oil only about five per cent.
- Souris is a farm supply town. There are grain farms in the north, cattle and mixed in the south.
See an interactive map of all Manitoba ridings here.
