Kenora—Rainy River is a provincial

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

(riding) in northwestern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, that has been represented in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

since 1999. It was created from

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The history of the name exten ...

, most of Rainy River and part of

Lake Nipigon Lake Nipigon ( ; ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northwestern Ontario. Part of the Great Lakes drainage basin, it drains through the Nipigon River into Lake Superior. It is the largest lake entirely within the Canadian province of Ontario. Ety ...

. The boundaries of the new district corresponded with the

Kenora—Rainy River Kenora—Rainy River could refer to: *Kenora—Rainy River (federal electoral district) *Kenora—Rainy River (provincial electoral district) Kenora—Rainy River is a provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district (riding) in northw ...

federal riding, until it was abolished in 2003. The provincial riding will continue to exist. A predominantly

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, working class, and rural riding, Kenora-Rainy River was formerly a stronghold for the

Ontario NDP The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Ontario, political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. I ...

Greg Rickford David Gregory Rickford (born September 24, 1967) is a Canadian politician. He is the Minister of Northern Development and Minister of Indigenous Affairs in the Executive Council of Ontario under Premier Doug Ford. He represents the Kenora� ...

of the Progressive Conservatives was elected its MPP in a dramatic swing to the right in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. The riding was previously represented by Sarah Campbell for the NDP and

Howard Hampton Howard George Hampton (born May 17, 1952) is a politician who was a member of Provincial Parliament for the province of Ontario. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada, from 1987 to 1999 in the electoral district of Rainy Ri ...

, former leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party. The riding includes part of

Kenora District Kenora District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The district seat is the City of Kenora. It is geographically the largest division in Ontario: at , it covers 38 percent of the province's area, making it larger ...

, and the western three quarters of the

Rainy River District Rainy River District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1885. It is the only division in Ontario that lies completely in the Central Time Zone, except for the township o ...

History

In 1996, Ontario was divided into the same electoral districts as those used for federal electoral purposes. They were redistributed whenever a readjustment took place at the federal level. In 2005, legislation was passed by the Legislature to divide Ontario into 107 electoral districts, beginning with the next provincial election in 2007. The eleven northern electoral districts, including Kenora—Rainy River, are those defined for federal purposes in 1996, based on the 1991 census (except for a minor boundary adjustment). The 96 southern electoral districts are those defined for federal electoral purposes in 2003, based on the 2001 census. Without this legislation, the number of electoral districts in northern Ontario would have been reduced from eleven to ten. Prior to the 2018 provincial election, the Ontario government's

Far North Electoral Boundaries Commission The 2018 Ontario general election was held on June 7, 2018, to elect the 124 members of the 42nd Parliament of Ontario. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, led by Doug Ford, won 76 of the 124 seats in the legislature and formed a majo ...

proposed dividing Kenora—Rainy River into one riding for the urbanized southern portion of the current district, which will retain the name Kenora—Rainy River, and one riding for the predominantly

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

northern portion of the current district, to be named

Kiiwetinoong Kiiwetinoong () is a provincial electoral district (riding) in Ontario, Canada which elects one member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. This riding was created prior to the 42nd Ontario general election from the northern portion of Kenora ...

. The creation of Kiiwetinoong and

Mushkegowuk—James Bay Mushkegowuk—James Bay () is a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It elects one member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. This riding was created from the northern portion of Timmins—James Bay by the Far North Electoral B ...

, another new northern riding, were approved with the passage of the ''Representation Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017'' in the

Members

Election results

, align="left" colspan=2,

New Democrat New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United States H ...

hold , align="right", Swing , align="right", +1.09 ^ Change is from redistributed results

2007 electoral reform referendum

Notes

Sources

* Elections Ontario
1999 results

2003 results

2007 results

Map of riding for 2018 election
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenora-Rainy River (provincial electoral district) Ontario provincial electoral districts Fort Frances Dryden, Ontario Politics of Kenora Rainy River District Constituencies established in 1999