Several tight races across region

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This article was published 04/10/2023 (1071 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There were several tight races in Westman rural ridings, with the NDP gaining new ground, and two Progressive Conservative cabinet ministers about to lose their portfolios.

DAUPHIN

Dauphin was one of the closest races in Westman.

As of midnight, the NDP’s Ron Kostyshyn of the NDP was leading Progressive Conservative incumbent Gord Wood.

With 44 of 48 polls reporting, Kostyshyn had 51.9 per cent of the vote, Wood had 48.1 per cent.

As the votes were counted and updated throughout the evening, the two candidates were at times 100 and 300 votes apart.

The PC sweep is on trend with the 2019 election, when it took 49.4 per cent of the vote, followed closely by the NDP’s 43.4 per cent and Liberal Party’s 7.2 per cent.

As of press time, The Sun was unable to reach either of the Dauphin candidates for comment.

TURTLE MOUNTAIN

In Turtle Mountain, Progressive Conservative incumbent Doyle Piwniuk held onto his seat with a win over NDP candidate Lorna Canada-Vanegas Mesa, Keystone Party candidate Kevin Friesen and Liberal candidate Ali Trar.

As of midnight with 53 of 57 polls reporting, Piwniuk had a comfortable 55.3 per cent of the votes, NDP candidate Lorna Canada-Vanegas Mesa had 22.5 per cent in second place, the Keystone Party’s Friesen had 17.3 per cent, and Liberal Ali Tarar had 4.9 per cent of the vote.

“I want to thank Turtle Mountain for believing in me and making sure we continue to move our constituency forward,” Piwniuk said.

“Our mandate was, we were going to grow the economy, we’re going to invest in our highways and no matter what happens, I’m going to make sure if we are in opposition, we’re going to make sure that they’re accountable.”

Candidate Lorna Canada-Vanegas Mesa said while disappointed she lost to Piwniuk, she’s happy with Wab Kinew’s win, “When I was introduced to Wab, and his wife, Lisa, it was like, yes, they know what it’s going to take. This is the party that is actually looking out for people in my community, because clearly, that’s not happened here in a very long time.”

RIDING MOUNTAIN

The Tory stronghold in rural Manitoba means that Greg Nesbitt will hold onto his seat as MLA for Riding Mountain but not his position as a cabinet minister.

Nesbitt defeated NDP candidate Wayne Chacun and Liberal candidate Eileen Smerchanski.

As of midnight with 47 of 55 polls reporting, Nesbitt had 64.4 per cent of the vote, Chacun was second with 31.3 per cent, and Smerchanski in last place with 4.4 per cent.

Nesbitt said he is very happy to have the honor of representing Riding Mountain again, but is disappointed that a number of his colleagues were defeated.

“No matter who’s elected tonight, they’ll all have the best interests of Manitoba at heart and I look forward to getting back in the house and ensuring that whoever’s in government, we’re going to hold them to account,” Nesbitt said.

Speaking from Virden, Chacun said over the phone that he was aware of the area being traditionally PC, but while campaigning, he came across many people who were looking for a change.

“It was about getting the party name out there and making sure people had a credible choice when it came time for the election. Many people had concerns about health care and education,” Chacun said.

He said he is returning to work as a paramedic and has recently taken on the position of secretary for the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals.

AGASSIZ

In Agassiz, the Progressive Conservative party maintained its record with electing an area MLA, as incumbent Jodie Byram won the riding.

As of midnight, with 30 of 37 polls reporting, Byram had 63.9 per cent of the votes.

She defeated NDP candidate Danica Wiggins, who had 21.8 per cent of the vote, the Keystone Party’s Mark Wilson had 10.2 per cent, and Liberal candidate Richard Davies garnered 4.2 per cent of the vote.

Voting percentages appear to be close to the 2019 election where the PCs took 75.5 per cent of the vote, followed by NDP’s 12.9 per cent, the Liberal with 6.1 per cent and the Green Party of Manitoba with 5.5 per cent.

As of press time, The Sun was unable to reach any Agassiz candidates for comment.

SWAN RIVER

Progressive Conservative incumbent Rick Wowchuk retained his seat by a comfortable margin in Swan River, defeating NDP candidate Andy Maxwell, and Don McKenna with the Keystone Party.

As of midnight with 43 of 47 polls reporting, Wowchuk had 64 per cent of the vote compared to 30.9 per cent of the vote for the NDP’s Maxwell, and 5.1 per cent for McKenna.

This is Wowchuk’s third election, and said with his seven years in the legislature, he believes the focus of his party should stay on affordability for Manitobans, health care and rural crime.

“We all know that the health care system is an area that has to be addressed. And I really feel that we were on the right track. I’ve talked to people in the health-care system, and they told us we would see the benefits of our actions,” Wowchuk said.

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