Keewatinook (previously spelt "Kewatinook") is a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of Manitoba.
The riding existed previously under the name Rupertsland; however, starting with the 2011 general election, the riding was renamed Kewatinook which means 'from the north' in Cree. Effective as of the 2019 election, the spelling was corrected to Keewatinook.
Currently the largest riding in the province, Keewatinook is a sprawling northern constituency occupying a large portion of eastern Manitoba. Its current area stretches from the Ontario border in the southeast to the Nunavut border in the north; it is also bordered by the ridings of Lac Du Bonnet to the south and Flin Flon, The Pas, and Thompson to the west.
, Ian Bushie is the MLA for this riding.
History The division, originally named Rupertsland, was created in 1915 from territories that were added to the province of Manitoba four years earlier and has existed continuously since that time. The area had been part of the Grand Rapids and Churchill and Nelson electoral districts for the 1914 Manitoba general election.
Before 1966, elections in this riding were usually deferred until a later date than the rest of the province, due to the increased time it took to run elections in the region.
The riding was originally smaller than its current size until 1989, when it gained a significant amount of territory from the former riding of Churchill.
As part of the 2008 riding redistribution by the Manitoba Boundaries Commission, its name was changed to Kewatinook (Cree for 'from the north') beginning with the 2011 general election. Effective as of the 2019 election, the spelling was corrected to Keewatinook.
Prior to the 2016 election, the New Democratic Party represented the riding from 1969 to 2016, when Judy Klassen of the Liberal Party defeated longtime MLA Eric Robinson. The NDP would regain control of the seat in 2019, with Ian Bushie defeating Liberal Jason Harper.
Demographics Keewatinook's population in 2006 was 15,560. In 1999, the average family income was $33,787 (the fourth-lowest in Manitoba), and the unemployment rate was 25%. Over 34% of the riding's population have less than a Grade 9 education, the highest such rate in the province. Government services account for 21% of the riding's industry, followed by education services at 17%.
Eighty-seven per cent of Keewatinook's residents are Indigenous, the highest percentage in the province. Over half of the population list Cree as their mother tongue. In 1999, there was only a 1% immigrant population.
Members of the Legislative Assembly Assembly Years Member Party15th1915-1920John Morrison Independent16th1920-1922 Liberal17th1922-1927 Francis Black Progressive18th1927-1932 Herbert Beresford Independent Progressive19th1932-1936 Ewan McPherson Liberal–Progressive20th1936-1941 Michael Rojeski Liberal21st1941-1945Daniel HamiltonLiberal–Progressive22nd1945-194923rd1949-195324th1953-1958 Roy Brown25th1958-1959Joseph JeannotteProgressive Conservative26th1959-196327th1963-196628th1966-196929th1969-1972Jean AllardNew Democratic1972-1973Independent30th1973-1977Harvey BostromNew Democratic31st1977-198132nd1981-1985 Elijah Harper33rd1985-198834th1988-1990 35th1990-19921992-1995Eric Robinson36th1995-199937th1999-200338th2003-200739th2007-201140th2011-2016 Eric Robinson New Democratic41st2016–2019 Judy KlassenLiberal42nd2019–2023 Ian Bushie New Democratic43rd2023–present
Electoral results
1916 by-election
1920
1922
1927
1932
1936
1941
1945
1949
1953
1958
1959
1962
1966
1969
1973
1977
1981
1986
1988
1990
1993 by-election
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2016 2016 provincial election redistributed results Party % Liberal 42.0 New Democratic 40.7 Progressive Conservative 17.2
2019
2023
Previous boundaries
See also List of Manitoba provincial electoral districts Canadian provincial electoral districts
References