What to know about the Interlake-Gimli riding for Manitoba's 2023 election

• About the riding
• Voting history
• News stories from Interlake-Gimli
• Meet the candidates
• More CBC Manitoba riding profiles

The central Manitoba riding Interlake-Gimli has been around since 1981, but it got a new name in the 2018 riding redistribution, when the boundary expanded to include Gimli.

The riding runs between Lake Winnipeg in the east and Lake Manitoba in the west. Its southernmost point is just south of Twin Lakes Beach, and its northernmost point is just north of Gypsumville.

The riding includes Arborg, Ashern, Gypsumville and Oak Point, as well as newer additions Gimli, Winnipeg Beach and Riverton.

The riding's population is 26,610, according to the riding's profile (which includes information compiled from the 2021 census).

• Full coverage of the 2023 Manitoba election

The median age of the riding is several years older than the overall provincial median, at 48.8, compared to the provincial median age of 38.4. The census found the median household income in the area is $64,500.

More facts about Interlake-Gimli

• One-quarter of residents are 65 and older, the riding profile says.
• Almost 28 per cent of residents identified as Indigenous.
• Only three per cent of residents identified as visible minorities.
• Less than seven per cent of residents identified as immigrants.

Voting history

The longtime Interlake NDP stronghold turned blue in the 2016 provincial election, voting in incumbent Derek Johnson, who was re-elected in 2019.

• 1981 to 2007 (nine general elections): NDP.
• 2011: Tom Nevakshonoff (NDP).
• 2016, 2019: Derek Johnson (Progressive Conservative).

(Before being absorbed in the new riding, Gimli elected PC MLA Ed Helwer for 15 years, from 1988-2003. After that, the Gimli riding elected an NDP representative in 2007 and 2011, before voting in a PC candidate in 2016).

Interlake-Gimli in the news

• Remember the Gimli Glider? This couple does he was the pilot and she was a passenger
• Lights, camera, action! 2023 Gimli International Film Festival kicks off
• Gimli shop owner limits customers, locks door while open due to spike in thefts

Meet the candidates

As of Sept. 11, the nominated candidates for the 2023 election are:

• Sean James (Liberal).
• Derek Johnson (Progressive Conservative incumbent).
• Sarah Pinsent-Bardarson (NDP).
• Larry Brandt (Keystone Party).

Candidates become official when they meet criteria set out in the province's Elections Act, including providing a statement of disclosure, after the election has been called. In Interlake-Gimli, all candidates areofficial.

Find more CBC Manitoba riding profiles here.