Algoma - Manitoulin - Kapuskasing

This northern Ontario riding spreads the smallest population in the province over the third-largest land area. According to the 2006 census, 31 per cent of the residents are francophone and 14 per cent are aboriginal.

Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing stretches from Manitoulin Island in the south to north of Manitouwadge, Hearst and Kapuskasing in the Cochrane district; from Lake Superior in the west to the Nickel Belt and Sudbury ridings in the east. The riding contains more than 100 communities, including Kapuskasing and Hornepayne in the north; Chapleau in the central part of the riding; and Elliot Lake, Espanola, Blind River, Manitoulin and Manitoulin Island in the south.

The riding's economic base is rooted in manufacturing, retail trade and the service sector. Slightly less than six per cent of the labour force works in occupations unique to primary industries, such as fishing and forestry. The average household income is $67,349 and the unemployment rate is 10.5 per cent.

Algoma riding was established in 1867 and divided into Algoma East and Algoma West in 1903. In 1966, Algoma was re-established. The lines were redrawn in 1996, adding the Timmins-Chapleau and Cochrane-Superior areas to the north. In the 2004 redistribution, parts of the Timmins-James Bay and Nickel Belt ridings were added in the north and east.

Population: 77,961 (2006 census; a decrease of 5.3% since 2001)

Political History

Liberal Brent St. Denis won the 2006 election over NDP candidate Carol Hughes by 1,408 votes. St. Denis has held a seat in this riding since 1993, when he defeated Reform candidate Ken Leffler by almost 12,000 votes.

In 2004, St. Denis was re-elected for the Liberals, defeating NDP candidate Hughes by 3,225 votes.

This riding has voted Liberal since 1935. The last Conservative win was in 1930. Lester Pearson, later prime minister, was first elected in a byelection in Algoma East in 1948. He held the riding until he retired before the 1968 election.

• Since 1935 - LIB