Regina - Qu'Appelle

This is an urban-rural riding. It includes part of Regina north of the CP Rail line and east of North Pasqua Street and Lewvan Drive, plus outlying communities such as Qu'Appelle, Fort Qu'Appelle, Wynyard and Indian Head. Big Quill Lake and Little Quill Lake form part of the northern boundary.

There are several First Nations reserves here, and aboriginals make up about 21 per cent of the population. Less than five per cent of the riding's residents are immigrants.

In its urban areas, this riding has a diverse economic base with retail trade, the service sector, construction amd manufacturing providing most of the employment. Outside the city, the rich Qu'Appelle Valley boasts some of the best soil for growing fruit and vegetables in Western Canada.

The 2006 census shows an average family income of $62,134 and an unemployment rate of 5.8 per cent.

The Qu'Appelle riding, which previously existed from 1908-1966, was re-established in 1996 when a large section of Regina-Qu'Appelle was combined with portions of Regina-Lumsden and Mackenzie. The name was changed back to Regina-Qu'Appelle in 1998.

Population: 66,698 (2006 census; a decrease of 3.4% since 2001)

Political History

Conservative incumbent Andrew Scheer won re-election in 2006, beating New Democrat Lorne Nystrom for the second time. In 2004, Scheer defeated Nystrom in a tight race, winning by 861 votes.

Prior to 2004, the NDP had taken this area in nearly every election since 1968. Nystrom was first elected in the Yorkton-Melville riding in 1968, at age 22. In 1997, he beat the Reform party's Les Winter, but was barely re-elected in 2000, when his margin over Don Leier of the Canadian Alliance was just 164 votes.

Prior to Nystrom, the riding was held for 18 years by the NDP's Simon de Jong.

Qu'Appelle:

• 1997 - NDP

Regina-Qu'Appelle:

• 2000 - NDP
• 2004, 2006 - CON