Churchill

This riding covers northern Manitoba and is one of the largest in Canada. It is bounded by Nunavut in the north, Hudson Bay and Ontario in the east and Saskatchewan in the west. It includes Churchill, Flin Flon, Thompson and The Pas.

Health and social services, education services, retail trade and mining are the major sources of employment here.

According to the 2006 census, the total aboriginal population is 70 per cent, which ranks among the highest in Canada.

The average family income is $61,071 and unemployment is 15.6 per cent. Almost 61 per cent of residents speak English as a mother tongue and 23 per cent speak Cree. Just nine per cent of those over age 25 have a university certificate or degree.

The boundaries of this riding did not change in the 1976 redistribution and changed slightly in 1996 and 2004.

Population: 75,232 (2006 census; an increase of 2.5% since 2001)

Political History

After nearly a decade of New Democrat representation, Liberal Tina Keeper beat NDP candidate Niki Christina Ashton to bring the riding back into Liberal hands in 2006.

In 2004, New Democrat Bev Desjarlais defeated Liberal Ron Evans by 1,008 votes. This was her third term. She had defeated Liberal Elijah Harper by 2,764 votes in 1997 and by 2,963 votes in 2000.

In 1993, Harper defeated New Democrat Rod Murphy by 907 votes. Harper is best known for his role in stopping ratification of the Meech Lake Accord when he was a New Democratic MLA in Manitoba, from 1981 until 1992.

In 1979, Murphy defeated incumbent PC Cecil Smith by 4,742 votes. Murphy was re-elected in 1980, 1984 and 1988.

PC Robert Simpson served as MP from 1957 until 1972, when another Tory, Keith Taylor, replaced him. PC Smith was elected in 1974.

• 1935, 1940 - LIB
• 1945 - CCF
• 1949, 1953 - LIB
• 1957-74 inclusive - PC
• 1979-88 inclusive - NDP
• 1993 - LIB
• 1997, 2000, 2004 - NDP
• 2006 - LIB