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• May 20, 2013
• NO CLASSES TODAY

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Current MP: Robert Sopuck, Conservative
Population: 75,110
Population eligible to vote (Canadian citizens over age 18): 54,285
Major centres: Dauphin, Swan River, Neepawa, Minnedosa

Nominated candidates:

Wendy Menzies, Liberal
Cheryl Osborne, NDP
Robert Sopuck, Conservative
Kate Storey, Green

Click on name to jump to candidate's profile

Electoral history:

Created originally in 1903 the riding has had its boundaries changes and its name altered several times since. it's current make-up as Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette has been in effect since 2004.
It has deep seeded conservative roots and has elected a conservative MP all but once in the last two decades. in 1993, when the Liberals took the reigns of government post Brian Mulroney, Liberal Marlene Cowling won the seat. she was defeated by Inky Mark of the Reform Party four years later. Mark represented the riding until 2010 when he resigned. Mark was often seen as a maverick and has been highly critical of his former party for how it handled nominations and election expenses,
Conservative Bob Sopuck easily won the seat in a by-election in november 2010 and gets to campaign for the second time in less than six months now.
Dauphin is a largely rural riding and more than a quarter of the population over 15 is employed in the agriculture industry. It has very few immigrants, is a relatively stable population without a lot of movement in or out of the riding, and while the median household income is somewhat lower than the national average, the cost of living is lower as well.

Previous election results

Demography

Median age: 43
Percentage under 18: 25.1
Percentage over 65: 19.4

Marital status:
Single/never married: 29.5 per cent
Legally married: 52.9 per cent
Separated/divorced: 7.8 per cent
Widowed: 9.8 per cent

Families:
Single parents: 14.8 per cent

Income:
Median household income pre-tax: $34,203
Percentage living in poverty: 15.8 per cent
Percentage of kids under 18 living in poverty: 20.9 per cent

Housing
Single detached homes: 85.4 per cent
Semi-detached/row houses: 2.9 per cent
Low-rise apartment units: 5.9 per cent
High-rise apartment units: 0.8 per cent
Other: 5 per cent

Owned homes: 74 per cent
Average value of owned home: $87,835
Average number of rooms in home: 6
Homes built pre-1986: 80.5 per cent
Homes needing major repairs: 14.9 per cent

Language
Speaks English: 93.4 per cent
Speaks French: 0.5 per cent
Can speak both English and French: 4.7 per cent

Citizenship/immigration
Canadian citizens: 98.5 per cent
Total immigrants (who ever immigrated to canada): 3.7 per cent
Immigrated within previous five years: 0.6 per cent

Aboriginal identity:
First nations: 14.8 per cent
Métis: 6.2 per cent

Ethnicity:
Visible minorities: 0.8 per cent
Major ethnic identities (as a percentage of total population): Chinese (0.2 per cent), Filipino (0.17 per cent), Latin American (0.12 per cent)

Education: (highest level obtained, population 25-64 years old)
Less than high school: 29.8 per cent
High school diploma: 25.7 per cent
Apprenticeship/trade certificate: 12.5 per cent
College: 17.1 per cent
University with or without degree: 14.8 per cent

Employment:
Unemployment rate: 5.9 per cent
Top 5 industries: (as a percentage of total labour force over 15 years old) agriculture, retail, health care, business services, education

Commuting:
Drives self to work or was a passenger in car/truck: 85.2 per cent
Bikes or walks to work: 12.9 per cent
Takes public transit: 0.4 per cent

CANDIDATE PROFILES

All candidates were contacted and asked to provide short answers to a standard list of questions and a photograph. The responses we have received are below:

Wendy Menzies, Liberal Party of Canada

Career: Teacher

Education: Bach. Of Music/Cert. of Education

Where did you grow up? Carman/Roland area of Manitoba

Where do you live now? Neepawa, Home of Margaret Laurence and Lily Capital of the World

Hobbies/volunteer work: Reading, stained glass, gardening, singing, landscaping/Communities in Bloom, directing for musical theatre productions, painting and carpentry

Top issue in the riding (and your position on it): The existence and sustainability of rural areas. Rural areas are essential to the economic and social structure of Canada as a nation. This importance is often not fully understood nor recognized. I am and will continue to be a strong advocate for rural areas and do all within my abilities to create opportunities for the sustainability of all aspects of rural life.

Favorite book and why: I have a number of favorite books. I guess the latest that I read that had a profound impact on me was Race Against Time by Stephen Lewis. I gained a greater understanding of the enormity of human suffering throughout the world and the challenges that inhibit effective and efficient assistance to these areas. I believe, as a participant of the human race, that it is our moral and ethical obligation to bring relief to those living in abject poverty and unthinkable situations throughout the world.

Website: http://wendymenzies.liberal.ca

Cheryl Osborne, New Democratic Party

Career: Health liaison for Manitoba Health

Education: Master of Health Studies (Athabasca University)

Where did you grow up? Winnipeg

Where do you live now? I've lived in Roblin since 1999

Hobbies/Volunteer: I'm a volunteer with the Roblin Food Bank, the Roblin Life & Art Centre and a board member of the Parkland Regional Development Corporation and the L.E.A.R.N. Centre.

Top issue in the riding (and your position on it): Health care. We need public solutions to health care challenges, like training more family doctors, further improving homecare and making prescription medicine more affordable.

Favourite book and why: The Prophet by Khalil Gibran. It is a good reminder of what is truly important.

Website: www.cherylosborne.ndp.ca

Robert Sopuck, Conservative Party of Canada

Career: Worked as a fisheries biologist for both the federal and provincial governments until 1979. From 1979 to 1988, he operated a grain and oilseed farm, a small tourism business and consulted in the fields of environmental assessment and resource management. From 1988 to 1996, Bob coordinated the sustainable development initiative for the province of Manitoba and was an advisor to the premier of Manitoba.

Education: B.Sc. from the University of Manitoba in 1973, Masters from Cornell University (1975) in Ithaca, New York.

Where did you grow up? Winnipeg but moved to the Sandy Lake area early in my career.

Where do you live now? Settled on my farm near Riding Mountain where I still live today.

Hobbies/volunteer work: Fly tying, flyfishing, hunting, dog training, gardening and conservation.

Top issue in the riding (and your position on it): Our rural economy. I want to be a strong rural advocate to ensure our communities grow and prosper.

Favourite book and why: Meditations on Hunting by Jose Ortega y Gasset because it captures the joy and nature of hunting and the happiness it gives us.

Website: www.robertsopuck.ca

Kate Storey, Green Party of Canada

Career: Organic farmer, wildlife habitat specialist, mother and community volunteer.

Education: University of Manitoba, B Sc in botany

Where did you grow up? Winnipeg

Where do you live now? On the family farm in Grandview, Manitoba

Hobbies/Volunteer work: Music, gardening and hiking, plays tin whistle in the celtic dance band, "Haste Ye Back", member of the Dauphin Legion Pipes and Drum band, director of the Grandview United Church. Kate volunteers as the President of Grandview Chamber of Commerce, a Councillor with the Green Party of Canada, a Director of the Manitoba Organic Alliance, and is the Green Party of Canada Agriculture critic.

Top issue in the riding (and your position on it): The loss of farm and rural jobs. The Green Party proposes a shift to a smart green economy which means decentralization, with local food policies which support family farms and jobs rebuilding Canada's small processing and manufacturing base. Green means strong communities with clean jobs, public healthcare, crime prevention, and better pensions. A Green vote is a vote for true democracy which puts families first.

Favourite book and why: Tolkien's Lord of the Rings because it's the classic struggle between families who value community and nature and those who use exploitive technology to get rich and powerful. If hobbits voted they would vote Green.

Website: www.katestorey.ca

Twitter: @organicKate

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