What to know about the Brandon West riding for Manitoba's 2023 election

• About the riding
• Voting history
• News stories from Brandon West
• Meet the candidates
• MoreCBC Manitoba riding profiles

The Brandon West riding, which has been around since 1969, is west of 18th Street (Highway 10) and south of the Assiniboine River in the southwestern Manitoba city.

The riding ends at Patricia Avenue to the south and at the city limits to the west. It includes Brandon University.

Brandon is Manitoba's second-largest city, with an official population of 51,313 in the 2021 census a five per cent jump from the 2016 census. The southwestern Manitoba hub also serves surrounding communities and farmland and draws some of its workforce from 27 nearby municipalities, Economic Development Brandon says.

The riding's population is 22,445, says the province's riding profile (compiled from the 2021 census).

• Full coverage of the 2023Manitoba election

The median age of the riding is just under the overall provincial median, at 37.6 in Brandon West compared to 38.4 provincewide, the 2021 riding profile and the 2021 census say. The median household income in the area is $85,000, census data says.

More facts about Brandon West

• Agriculture-related businesses are the city's biggest industrial employment sector, Economic Development Brandon says.
• The city is a service centre for roughly 190,000 people in Brandon and surrounding areas, Economic Development Brandon says.

Voting history

The riding has been Progressive Conservative for most of its history, including the past decade.

• 1969, 1973 and 1977 elections: Progressive Conservative.
• 1981: NDP.
• 1986, 1988, 1990 and 1995: Progressive Conservative.
• 1999 and 2003: NDP.
• 2007: Progressive Conservative.
• 2011, 2016 and 2019: Reg Helwer (Progressive Conservative).

Brandon West in the news

• Cheers as Brandon School Division rejects call to remove library books on sexuality, gender identity
• Brandon school board reprimands members for conduct, bylaw breaches following library book debate
• Brandon University choir's international tour a chance to build relationships through music
• Brandon U needs to build 'safe athletics environment,' review says after reported sexual harassment by coach
• Brandon University apologizes after report finds soccer coach sexually harassed players
• Strengthening culture and identity at heart of southwestern Manitoba Indigenous men's group

Meet the candidates

As of Sept. 1, the nominated candidates for the 2023 election are:

• Wayne Balcaen (Progressive Conservative).
• Quentin Robinson (NDP).
• Bill Marsh (Green 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 Brandon West,the three candidates are official.

Find more CBC Manitoba riding profileshere.