Assiniboia (provincial electoral district)
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Assiniboia is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was first created for the 1879 provincial election, was eliminated in 1888, and was re-established in 1903. It is located in the westernmost tip of the City of Winnipeg.
Assiniboia is bordered on the east by St. James and Lakeside, to the south by Kirkfield Park, to the north by Lakeside, and to the west by Morris.
The riding's population in 1996 was 20,441. As of 1999, the average family income was $53,881, and the unemployment rate was 6.50%. Retail trade accounts for 15% of the riding's industry.
Until 1920, Assiniboia was a marginal riding between the Manitoba Liberal Party and Conservative Party. Between 1920 and 1949, it was a hotly contested riding between the Conservatives and candidates of the Independent Labour Party and Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF).
The riding was dominated by the Liberals from 1949 until 1977, and then by the Progressive Conservatives from 1977 to 1999. The New Democratic Party of Manitoba's (NDP) victory in 1999 was completely unexpected, and occurred by a margin of only three votes.
The current MLA is New Democrat Jim Rondeau, who was re-elected in the provincial election of 2003 with over 60% support. It is still too early to determine if the riding has become "safe" for the NDP.
List of provincial representatives
| Name | Party | Took Office | Left Office
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Murray | Lib-Cons | 1879 | 1888 |
| Duncan MacArthur | Lib | 1888 | 1888
|
| Joseph Prefontaine | Lib | 1903 | 1907 |
| Aime Benard | Cons | 1907 | 1914 |
| John Thomas Haig | Cons | 1914 | 1915 |
| John Wilton | Lib, later Ind | 1915 | 1920 |
| William Bayley | DLP | 1920 | 1920 |
| ILP | 1920 | 1927 | |
| Joseph Cotter | Cons | 1927 | 1932 |
| R.H. Webb | Cons | 1932 | 1936 |
| James Aikens | ILP/CCF | 1936 | 1941 |
| David Best | Cons/PC | 1941 | 1945 |
| Ernest Draffin | CCF | 1945 | 1949 |
| Reginald Wightman | Lib-Prog | 1949 | 1958 |
| Donovan Swailes | CCF | 1958 | 1959 |
| George Johnson | PC | 1959 | 1962 |
| Stephen Patrick | Lib | 1962 | 1977 |
| Norma Price | PC | 1977 | 1981 |
| Ric Nordman | PC | 1981 | 1988 |
| Ed Mandrake | Lib | 1988 | 1990 |
| Linda McIntosh | PC | 1990 | 1999 |
| Jim Rondeau | NDP | 1999 | present
|