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

• About the riding
• Voting history
• News stories from Agassiz
• Meet the candidates
• More CBC Manitoba riding profiles

The southwestern Manitoba riding of Agassiz was created in 2008 through the redistribution of most of the former Ste. Rose riding and part of the Turtle Mountain riding.

Agassiz's total population is 24,705, according to the Manitoba Bureau of Statistics, based on the 2021 census information collected in the province.

In 2018, the Manitoba Electoral Divisions Boundary Commission changed the boundaries of the riding, which is west of Lake Manitoba and southeast of Riding Mountain National Park. It includes the communities of Gladstone, Neepawa and Carberry, and has also included Treherne since 2018.

The town of Neepawa is among the fastest-growing in Manitoba, according to Statistics Canada's 2021 census, growing from 4,609 in 2016 to 5,685 in 2021 a 23 per cent jump.

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Some of that growth is fuelled by newcomers who have moved to the community, including many from the Philippines. Filipinos made up Neepawa's largest visible minority population, with 2,600 people, according to the 2021 census.

The median age of the riding's population is 37.8, according to the 2023 riding profile prepared by the Manitoba Bureau of Statistics, based on information from the 2021 census comparable to the provincial median of 38.4.

Voting history

Agassiz has only elected Progressive Conservative MLAs. Eileen Clarke won the seat for the party with more than 70 per cent of the vote in both the 2016and 2019elections. Clarke announced last year that she would not run in the 2023 election.

• 2011 election: Stu Briese (Progressive Conservative).
• 2016, 2019: Eileen Clarke (Progressive Conservative).

Agassiz in the news

• Filipino Community Thrives in Neepawa, one of Canada's fastest-growing towns
• 15 confirmed dead after collision between bus carrying seniors and semi in southwestern Manitoba: RCMP
• Manitoba community rallies for those who lost homes in devastating Christmas blaze
• Construction set to start on $127M new hospital in Neepawa
• Neepawa hockey team changing name in response to calls to scrap offensive monikers

Meet the candidates

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

• Jodie Byram (Progressive Conservative).
• Danica Wiggins (NDP).
• Mark Wilson (Keystone Party).
• Richard Davies (Liberal).

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 Agassiz,all candidates are official.

Find more CBC Manitoba riding profiles here.