St. Boniface (french: Saint-Boniface) is a provincial electoral division in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. It should not be confused with the federal electoral division of the same name, which includes most of the provincial riding's territory but has expanded boundaries and a larger population base. The riding has existed, in one form or another, since the province's creation. In Manitoba's first general election (1870), the riding was divided into St. Boniface East and St. Boniface West. It became a single constituency in 1874, and has existed continuously since then. The St. Boniface constituency elected its representation by preferential balloting from 1926 to 1953, a single member by

instant runoff voting Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the Un ...

from 1926 to 1945 and two members by

single transferable voting Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

in 1949 and 1953. On all other occasions, it has been a single-member constituency, electing its member by First Past The Post. St. Boniface is located in the central-eastern

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. Its boundaries roughly correspond with the historical community of

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

, Manitoba, which was a distinct civic jurisdiction before being amalgamated with the City of Winnipeg in 1971. The riding's population in 1996 was 19,646. The average family income in 1999 was $45,193, with an unemployment rate of 10.5%. The service sector accounts for 18% of the riding's industry, with a further 15% in health and social services. St. Boniface has historically been home to the largest

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

community in the Winnipeg area. According to a 1999 census, 34% of the riding's residents speak French as their first language—the highest rate in the province. The riding's aboriginal population is 8%, and almost 19% of the population is over 65 years of age. For many years after the introduction of partisan politics in 1882, St. Boniface was a hotly contested battleground riding between the provincial Liberals and

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

(although candidates of the parliamentary left were also elected in the 1930s and 1940s). During the 1950s and 1960s, it was generally regarded as a safe seat for the Liberals. In 1969, St. Boniface MLA

Laurent Desjardins Laurent Louis "Larry" Desjardins (March 15, 1923 – February 7, 2012) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a member of the Manitoba legislature for most of the period from 1959 to 1988, and was a cabinet minister under New Democ ...

decided to sit as a ''Liberal Democrat'', supporting the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

government of

Edward Schreyer Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 22nd since Canadian Confederation. Schreyer was born and educated in Manitoba, and was first electe ...

. He formally joined the NDP in 1971, and aside from an overturned election result in 1973, continued to represent the area until 1988. The provincial Liberals recaptured the seat in 1988, during a period of resurgence for that party in the province. After

Neil Gaudry Neil Gaudry (September 19, 1937 – February 18, 1999) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1988 until his death, sitting as a Liberal. The son of Véronique Chartrand and Ernest ...

's death in 1999,

Greg Selinger Gregory Francis Selinger (born February 16, 1951) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 21st premier of Manitoba from 2009 until 2016, leading an NDP government. From 1999 to 2009 he was the Minister of Finance in the government of ...

recaptured the seat for the NDP. He was reelected in 2003 with about 75 percent of the popular vote, and was named

premier of Manitoba The premier of Manitoba (french: premier ministre du Manitoba) is the first minister (i.e., head of government or chief executive) for the Canadian province of Manitoba—as well as the ''de facto'' President of the province's Executive Council ...

in 2009. Selinger left politics two years after the NDP was heavily defeated at the 2016 provincial election, and newly elected Liberal leader

Dougald Lamont Dougald Lamont (born April 23, 1969) is a Canadian politician and leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, representing the constituency of St. Boniface (provincial electoral district), St. Bo ...

won the seat at the ensuing by-election.

Members of the Legislative Assembly

St. Boniface East (1870-1874)

St. Boniface West (1870-1874)

St. Boniface (single-member riding, 1874-1949)

St. Boniface (two-member riding, 1949-1958)

St. Boniface (single-member riding, 1958-)

Electoral results

1874 general election

1878 general election

1879 general election

1882 by-election

1883 general election

1886 general election

1888 general election

1892 general election

1896 general election

1897 by-election

1899 general election

1900 by-election

1903 general election

1907 general election

1910 general election

1913 by-election

1914 general election

1915 general election

1920 general election

1922 general election

1927 general election

1932 general election

1936 general election

1941 general election

1945 general election

1949 general election

1953 general election

1958 general election

1959 general election

1962 general election

1966 general election

1969 general election

1973 general election

1974 by-election

1977 general election

1981 general election

1986 general election

1988 general election

1990 general election

1995 general election

1999 general election

2003 general election

2007 general election

2011 general election

2016 general election

2018 by-election

2019 general election

Previous boundaries

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Boniface (Provincial Electoral District) Manitoba provincial electoral districts Politics of Winnipeg Saint Boniface, Winnipeg