Kildonan (Manitoba riding) - Definition and Overview

Kildonan is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

Historical Riding

The original Kildonan riding was created at the time of the province's establishment in 1870. It was dominated by Manitoba's "old settler" population (ie. English-speaking families who had lived in the Red River Settlement for many years before the province's creation). There was a large "mixed blood" aboriginal population in the riding, and many of its residents were also of Scottish or partly-Scottish ancestry. From 1886 to 1888, the riding was incorporated into Kildonan and St. Paul.

Kildonan was a hotly-contested riding between the Conservatives and Liberals following the establishment of party government in 1888. In 1899, it was dissolved into the riding of Kildonan and St. Andrews.

List of provincial representatives

• (+) From 1886 to 1888, the riding was incorporated into Kildonan and St. Paul.

Permutations

From 1920 to 1927, the Kildonan and St. Andrews riding was represented by Labour MLA Charles Tanner. Otherwise, it continued to return Liberals and Conservatives until being redistributed as Kildonan-Transcona in 1949. After that time, it was generally considered safe for the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation.

List of provincial representatives (Kildonan and St. Andrews)

List of provincial representatives (Kildonan-Transcona)

Current riding

The modern Kildonan riding was established in 1957, and formally came into being in the provincial election of 1958. It is located in the north-end of the city of Winnipeg, although redistribution has altered its specific boundaries on a number of occasions.

Kildonan is bordered on the east by River East and Rossmere, to the south by St. Johns and Burrows, to the north by Gimli, and to the west by The Maples.

The seat is generally regarded as safe for the New Democratic Party. The Progressive Conservatives won Kildonan in 1963 (in a deferred vote from the 1962 election) and the Liberals won it in 1988. In both cases, the NDP recaptured the seat after a single term.

Kildonan's current MLA is David Chomiak, a prominent cabinet minister in the government of Gary Doer. In the provincial election of 2003, he was re-elected to the riding with over 70% of the total vote.

The riding's population in 1996 was 19,522. As of 1999, the average family income was $54381, and the unemployment rate was 6.80%. Almost 18% of the population is above 65 years of age.

Kildonan has a large immigrant population (23% of the total population in 1999), and is ethnically diverse. Ukrainians make up 14% of the riding's population; a further 11% are Jewish, 7$ are Polish and 3% are Italian.

Kildonan's residents are primarily middle and upper-income. Manufacturing accounts of 16% of industry in the riding, with a further 15% in the service sector.

List of provincial representatives