Keewatinook (previously spelt "Kewatinook") is a

provincial electoral district An electoral district in Canada is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based. It is officially known in Canadian French as a ''circonscription'' but frequently called a ''comté'' (county). In Canadian En ...

in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. 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 The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

. 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 Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

border in the southeast to the

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

border in the north; it is also bordered by the ridings of Lac Du Bonnet to the south and

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located withi ...

The Pas The Pas ( , ) is a town in Manitoba, Canada, at the confluence of the Pasquia River and the Saskatchewan River and surrounded by the unorganized Northern Region of the province. It is approximately northwest of the provincial capital, Winn ...

, and

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson Lantion, Filipino retired police general * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia * Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thom ...

to the west. ,

Ian Bushie Ian Bushie is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the 2019 Manitoba general election.Bryce Hoye"Meet the rookies: Manitobans elect 13 first-time MLAs" CBC News Manitoba, September 11, 2019. He repres ...

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 Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

and Churchill and Nelson electoral districts for the

1914 Manitoba general election The 1914 Manitoba general election was held on July 10, 1914 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. The result was a fifth consecutive majority government for the Progre ...

. 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's 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'' (

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 The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

represented the riding from 1969 to 2016, when

Judy Klassen Judy Klassen is a Canadian provincial politician, who was interim leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party, from October 2016 to June 2017, succeeding Rana Bokhari. Klassen was first elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for ...

of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

defeated longtime MLA Eric Robinson. The NDP would regain control of the seat in 2019, with

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 Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

, the highest percentage in the province. Over half of the population list

as their mother tongue. In 1999, there was only a 1% immigrant population.

List of provincial representatives

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

2019

2023

Previous boundaries

References

{{coord, 55.453, -93.779, type:adm3rd_region:CA-MB, display=title Manitoba provincial electoral districts Churchill, Manitoba