Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River (Saskatchewan) 82/338

Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River (Saskatchewan)

Today we're in Northern Saskatchewan with Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River!

Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River has existed as a riding since 1997. The population of the riding was 70,891 in 2016. The population centers are Meadow Lake (5,344 in 2016), La Ronge (2,688 in 2016), and La Loche (2,372 in 2016). The riding contains communities with the "Northern Village", "Northern Town", and "Northern Hamlet" distinction, which is unique to Saskatchewan and Quebec.

Politically, this seat has gone through some wild swings as of late. In 2011, the swung 26 points to second in the riding. The next election, the Liberals swung 28% into second. However, in 2015, the three major parties were almost within 4 points of each other, so the Conservatives gained 12% in 2019 to take the riding. The riding is currently represented by Conservative MP Gary Vidal.

You might be thinking: why is this riding so Conservative, isn't it NDP provincially? That is partially true, there are southern provincial ridings that went pretty hard for the Saskatchewan Party. However, the issue for the non-Conservative parties is that with the Liberals and NDP fighting over the north, the Conservatives can swoop in with the southern communities that typically vote Conservative and cut through the split. Add on the fact that the current MP is the former mayor of Meadow Lake, the largest community in the riding, it will be tough for the other parties to win. In 2019, this seat was 2/13 in Saskatchewan and 130/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 6.4/10 - I was searching for 30 minutes on the first two names, so I'm not sure how to rate it. All I will say is that it is too long and could easily just be Athabasca—Cumberland or something like that.

Shape: 7.9/10 - This is really good! Granted, three of the edges are provincial borders. Also, it's a bit lower because of the odd boundaries in the south, but again, not awful.

Individuality: 8.7/10 - We love a good old swing.

Total: 23/30 (76.7%)

Tomorrow we're back in Toronto with Don Valley East!