Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa (Manitoba) 79/338

 Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa (Manitoba)

Today we're back in Manitoba with Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa!

Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa has existed as a riding since the 2012 redistribution, created from Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, Brandon—Souris, and Portage—Lisgar. The population was 87,527 in 2016. The population centers are Dauphin (8,547 in 2016), Neepawa (4,609 in 2016), and Swan River (4,014 in 2016). The town of Neepawa grew 27% between 2011 and 2016, going from 3,629 people to 4,609 people.

Politically, this seat has been held by a conservative since 1997. It actually went Liberal in 1993, which is much more recently than most other prairie seats who haven't changed affiliation since the 40's or 50's. The 1993 and 1997 elections were particularly interesting in this riding: In 1993, the four major (non-Quebec) parties got over 15% of the vote, and in 1997, all four got 20% or more. This seat is currently held by Conservative MP Dan Mazier.

The former MP, Inky Mark, has quite a story. Before federal politics, he served as the mayor of Dauphin. He served in the House of Commons, changing party affiliation five times, starting as a Reform MP, then to Alliance, then to Democratic Representative Caucus (protest to Stockwell Day's leadership), then to Progressive Conservative, then ultimately to Conservative. He resigned in 2010 to run for mayor of Dauphin again, but lost this time. He ran in 2015 as an independent, only getting about 8% of the vote. In 2019, this seat was 12/14 in Manitoba and 307/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 6.8/10 - I appreciate the effort, and it isn't all bad, but naming population centers really doesn't work in a riding so rural.

Shape: 5.7/10 - The combination of the lakes and the southern municipal boundaries knocks this down quite a bit. Props to the clean lines on the north and west.

Individuality: 4.7/10 - I love how chaotic it was in the 90's, but other than that, it really isn't too different from the other rural prairie ridings.

Total: 17.2/30 (57.3%)

No post tomorrow, going to a friend's place in rural Ontario (wish me luck). Also this gives the judicial recount some extra time, because the next time I talk to you, we'll be in Davenport!