Manitoba Election 2007: Top Five Ridings to Watch

Manitoba Election 2007: Top Five Riding to Watch

One week left in Manitoba’s 2007 provincial election campaign. Here are my top five ridings to watch:

Brandon West

In 2003, the NDP’s Scott Smith bested his Tory opponent by 25 percentage points. However, the 2007 race promises to be much more competitive because well-known former mayor and MP Rick Borotsik has come out of retirement to take the riding back for the Tories.

2003 RESULT
NDP 61.0%
CON 34.9%
LIB 4.1%

Fort Garry

The past two elections in Fort Garry have been won by less than 100 votes. Although the NDP bested the Tories in 2003, this riding has traditionally been Tory blue. Forget Fort Rouge, Fort Garry is the riding to watch.

2003 RESULT
NDP 46.7%
CON 45.7%
LIB 6.8%

Minnedosa

The Tories barely held onto this stronghold surrounding Brandon, besting the NDP by only 12 votes in 2003. Incumbent Leanne Rowat is taking on New Democrat Harvey Patterson for the second time. The Tories have the advantage, but an NDP victory is certainly not out of the question.

2003 Result
CON 47.4%
NDP 47.2%
LIB 3.9%

St. Norbert

This southern Winnipeg riding unexpectedly went NDP in 2003, but the Tories think St. Norbert is relatively low hanging fruit on the electoral tree. If the Conservatives can’t win in St. Norbert, they can’t form a majority government.

2003 Result
NDP 48.7%
CON 37.9%
LIB 10.8%


Seine River

This southern Winnipeg riding went NDP in 2003, but the Tories are mildly confident they can bring it back into the Tory fold in 2007.

2003 Result
NDP 51.1%
CON 42.4%
LIB 6.5%


For more in-depth election coverage check out Buckdog's Manitoba Election Blog.