St. Boniface (provincial electoral district)

St. Boniface

Manitoba electoral district
Provincial electoral district
Legislature	Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
MLA	Greg Selinger New Democratic
District created	1870
First contested	1870
Last contested	2016

St. Boniface is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It should not be confused with the federal electoral division of the same name, which includes most of the provincial riding's territory but has expanded boundaries and a larger population base. The riding has existed, in one form or another, since the province's creation.

In Manitoba's first general election (1870), the riding was divided into St. Boniface East and St. Boniface West. It became a single constituency in 1874, and has existed continuously since then.

The riding elected two members by preferential balloting in 1949 and 1953. On all other occasions, it has been a single-member constituency.

St. Boniface is located in the central-eastern Winnipeg. Its boundaries roughly correspond with the historical community of Saint Boniface, Manitoba, which was a distinct civic jurisdiction before being amalgamated with the City of Winnipeg in 1971.

The riding's population in 1996 was 19,646. The average family income in 1999 was $45,193, with an unemployment rate of 10.50%. The service sector accounts for 18% of the riding's industry, with a further 15% in health and social services.

St. Boniface has historically been home to the largest francophone community in the Winnipeg area. According to a 1999 census, 34% of the riding's residents speak French as their first language—the highest rate in the province. The riding's aboriginal population is 8%, and almost 19% of the population is over 65 years of age.

For many years after the introduction of partisan politics in 1882, St. Boniface was a hotly contested battleground riding between the provincial Liberals and Conservatives (although candidates of the parliamentary left were also elected in the 1930s and 1940s). During the 1950s and 1960s, it was generally regarded as a safe seat for the Liberals.

In 1969, St. Boniface MLA Laurent Desjardins decided to sit as a Liberal Democrat, supporting the New Democratic Party government of Edward Schreyer. He formally joined the NDP in 1971, and aside from an overturned election result in 1973, continued to represent the area until 1988.

The provincial Liberals recaptured the seat in 1988, during a period of resurgence for that party in the province. After Neil Gaudry's death in 1999, Greg Selinger recaptured the seat for the NDP. He was reelected in 2003 with about 75 percent of the popular vote, and was named premier of Manitoba in 2009.

Members of the Legislative Assembly

St. Boniface East (1870-1874)

Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
Marc-Amable Girard	Governing Coalition/Cons	1870	1874

St. Boniface West (1870-1874)

Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
Louis Schmidt	Governing Coalition/Cons	1870	1874

St. Boniface (single-member riding, 1874-1949)

Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
Marc-Amable Girard	Governing Coalition/Cons	1874	1878
Alphonse LaRiviere	Governing Coalition/Lib-Cons	1878	1888
Roger Marion	Cons	1888	1892
James Prendergast	Cons-Lib, then Lib	1892	1896
Jean-B. Lauzon	Cons	1897	1899
S.A.D. Bertrand	Lib	1899	1900
Joseph Bernier	Cons	1900	1903
Horace Chevrier	Lib	1903	1907
Joseph Bernier	Cons	1907	1915
Joseph Dumas	Lib	1915	1920
Joseph Bernier	Independent	1920	1926
	Cons	1927	1932
Harold Lawrence	ILP	1932	1941
Austin Clarke	Lib-Prog	1941	1945
Edwin Hansford	CCF	1945	1949

St. Boniface (two-member riding, 1949-1958)

Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
Joseph Van Belleghem	Lib-Prog	1949	1953
Edwin Hansford	CCF	1949	1953
Roger Teillet	Lib-Prog	1953	1958
L. Raymond Fennell	Lib-Prog	1953	1958

St. Boniface (single-member riding, 1958-)

Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
Roger Teillet	Lib-Prog	1958	1959
Laurent Desjardins	Lib-Prog	1959	1961
	Lib	1961	1969
	Liberal-Democrat	1969	1971
	NDP	1971	1973
J. Paul Marion	Lib	1973	1974
Laurent Desjardins	NDP	1974	1988
Neil Gaudry	Lib	1988	1999
Greg Selinger	NDP	1999	present

Electoral results

Manitoba general election, 2016
The 2016 general election will be held on April 19.
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Progressive Conservative	Mamadou Ka	–	–	–
	Green	Signe Knutson	–	–	–
	Liberal	Alain Landry	–	–	–
	New Democratic	Greg Selinger	–	–	–
Total valid votes			–	100.0
Eligible voters			–
Source: Elections Manitoba

Manitoba general election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	New Democratic	Greg Selinger	5,941	68.88	+2.53
	Progressive Conservative	Frank Clark	1,537	17.82	+4.94
	Liberal	Brad Gross	606	7.03	−6.58
	Green	Alain Landry	530	6.14	−0.74
Total valid votes			8,587
Rejected and declined ballots			38
Turnout			8,625	59.50
Electors on the lists			14.496

Manitoba general election, 2007
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Greg Selinger	5,090	66.04	−8.3	$16,599.60
	Liberal	Gilbert Laberge	1,049	13.61	0.82	$3,582.87
	Progressive Conservative	Jennifer Tarrant	993	12.88	1.65	$722.42
	Green	Alain Landry	530	6.88	6.88	$378.57
	Communist	Thane-Dominic Carr	45	0.58	0.58	$373.97
Total valid votes			7,707	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			38
Turnout			7,745	59.56
Electors on the lists			13,004

Manitoba general election, 2003
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Greg Selinger	4,904	74.34
	Liberal	Dougald Lamont	952	14.43	–
	Progressive Conservative	Dan Zahari	741	11.23
Total valid votes			6597	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			38
Turnout			6635	52.19
Electors on the lists			12,712

Manitoba general election, 1999
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Greg Selinger	5,439	56.57
	Liberal	Jean-Paul Boily	2,994	31.14	–
	Progressive Conservative	Robert Olson	1,181	12.28
Total valid votes			9614	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			63
Turnout			9677	74.35
Electors on the lists			13,015

Previous boundaries

The 1999-2011 boundaries for St. Boniface highlighted in red