Political landscape shifting in Manitoba as new MPs head to Ottawa

Manitobans have voted to send some new MPs to Ottawa.

That’s after the challenges facing the New Democratic Party (NDP) across the country were also logged in Manitoba. Of the three seats previously held by the party in the province, only one MP remained following Monday’s vote.

Leah Gazan, the incumbent in Winnipeg Centre, was the only NDP MP to hold onto their seat after the dust settled on Election Day. Elsewhere, Rebecca Chartrand with the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) defeated Niki Ashton in Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, and the Conservative Party of Canada’s (CPC) Colin Reynolds beat out NDP MP Leila Dance in Elmwood—Transcona.

Gazan says NDP needs to rebuild, reflect 

However, despite the fact the NDP no longer has official party status and its leader in Jagmeet Singh has now resigned, Gazan says she’s blessed to continue serving the community.

“We’re really special in Winnipeg Centre because we have a lot of struggles, but we have the most brilliant organizations, we have the most wonderful community members and we have each other’s backs,” she said. 

“People told me this was going to be a tough campaign, but we’re a special community and the community came out for me in droves and I’m so touched by the support.” 

Gazan says she’s ready to return to Ottawa to hold the Liberal Party accountable on things like equity and diversity, but wouldn’t go as far as saying she’ll run for NDP leadership, saying right now her focus remains on Winnipeg Centre.

“I know how to work with our community to break through the noise to get things done,” she said, acknowledging the party needs to rebuild and reflect. 

Eyolfson returns to Ottawa 

Doug Eyolfson is returning to Ottawa after he managed to unseat the CPC’s Marty Morantz in Winnipeg West, leading by more than 3,000 votes. And when asked what went into this campaign, he replied: “Everything. Heart, mind, body and soul.”

Now, he’s ready to go to work for those who put their trust in him, saying he wants to be their voice in Ottawa, with expanding pharmacare one of his key goals. Shortly after his win Monday, he said he’s feeling elated. 

“I vowed in 2019 when I lost this seat that I was going to be back one day,” he said. “I knew there was a lot more work to do so I never gave this up. I kept working at it. I kept active in public life. I kept active with the press … keeping my voice out there and keeping connected with the parties and the government.

“I made it clear to all players that I was planning to come back and I was certain one day it would happen. I’m just very glad today’s the day.” 

Morantz said he’s thankful for the experience in Ottawa and that the CPC will still be able to do good work. 

“I really cherish the time I had on the hill and the work I was able to do and the people I met and the things that I learned.”

“I’m optimistic now that after this election with a strengthened Conservative caucus that we will finally see policies implemented in this country that will provide real change, particularly for young families.”

He feels one of the main factors in the loss was the collapse of the NDP, noting this riding always benefitted from a split in votes between the Liberals and NDP.

“They had a candidate on paper but there was no campaign. If you look around the riding, there wasn’t a single NDP sign anywhere in the riding,” he said.

Liberals hold strong on incumbent seats

The incumbent Liberals were able to successfully fill Dan Vandal’s vacant seat after he decided not to run, with Ginette Lavack now heading to Ottawa for the first time after defeating Shola Agboola.

The incumbent Liberal MPs managed to hold on to their seats and Terry Duguid in Winnipeg South, Manitoba’s bellwether for the nation, says while the election was “hard fought” it was clear to Canadians the Liberal Party was the one to stand up to Donald Trump.

“The message, particularly from the prime minister of standing up for Canada, standing up against unfair tariffs and unjust economic attack from our supposed closest friend and neighbour, that really changed the channel,” he said.

“That message resonated. But also, I have a record of service locally and have worked very, very hard for my constituents and I think that was recognized tonight as well and I look forward to serving for the next few years with my Liberal colleagues.”  

He beat out former Manitoba MLA turned federal opposition candidate Janice Morley-Lecomte, who called the election campaign “an adventure.” 

“For the past year-and-a-half I’ve been on a journey, and I’ve met amazing individuals who have shared their stories, and helped me on my journey,” she told her supporters in her concession speech. 

Thanking her family and her campaign staff, she said people worked tirelessly during the election, which allowed her to gain a new insight into the electoral district and the families who live there.

“Winnipeg South is a diverse community. People from many cultural backgrounds call it home. Through all the events, meetings and canvassing, I learned what makes Winnipeg South great; it’s the people,” she said. 

However, she also learned many in the community are struggling financially, telling her supporters she heard from people worried about being able to buy a home and meet rising costs, and stressed the loss was not due to a lack of effort. 

“Although we may not have won, our team was successful in getting out. We knocked on over 54,000 doors and made thousands of phone calls,” she said to applause. “Your hard work and support has not gone unnoticed and I thank you all.” 

Long-time MP Kevin Lamoureux was re-elected in Winnipeg North, beating out the Conservative Party’s Rachel Punzalan, with Ben Carr in Winnipeg South Centre defeating Royden Brousseau with the CPC. 

The three Liberal incumbents were able to celebrate early, as all of them had wide leads at the start of the evening, beating their fellow candidates by at least 4,000 votes in each of the ridings.

Many CPC incumbents re-elected 

In rural parts of Manitoba, the Conservative Party incumbents dominated, with Grant Jackson re-securing Larry Maguire’s seat for the party, winning by a wide margin of more than 17,000 votes.

In Riding Mountain, incumbent Dan Mazier of the CPC was elected, taking a strong lead early on over Liberal candidate Terry Hayward and defeating him by more than 18,000 votes. 

The incumbent CPCs also came out victorious in the Provencher electoral district, as Ted Falk beat out the Liberal Party’s Trevor Kirczenow, snf Raquel Dancho maintained her seat in Kildonan–St. Paul, beating Thomas Naaykens.

Conservative James Bezan in the Selkirk–-Interlake—Eastman electoral district also maintained his seat, defeating Rhonda Nichol with the Liberal Party, and the CPC’s Branden Leslie defeated Robert Kreis to maintain his seat in Portage Lisgar. 

All of the results are considered preliminary until final tallies are completed by Elections Canada.