Fort Richmond

Fort Richmond is a new riding created from parts of Fort Garry and St. Norbert.

It is a southern Winnipeg riding including the communities of Southwood, Montcalm, Agassiz and Fort Richmond. It also includes all of the University of Manitoba campus which likely accounts for its young median age – more than four years below the provincial median.

It is not an overly affluent riding, with the lowest median income of any of the ridings in south Winnipeg. Almost half of children under six live under the poverty line.

It is however one of the most educated ridings in Manitoba, with almost three in every four adults between 25 and 65 having more than a high school diploma. Only two ridings have higher education rates.

The riding has the fifth largest immigrant population in Manitoba and more than a third of residents say English is not their first language.

 

Stats

Population: 20,750

Median age: 34.1

Immigrants: 24.9 per cent

Aboriginal population: 5.4 per cent

Living in poverty: 31.7 per cent

Median income: $22,302

 

Politics

As a new riding combining parts of two old ridings, the politics of Fort Richmond are hard to discern.

Both of the ridings that served to make up Fort Richmond currently have NDP MLAs, but neither were considered safe seats for that party and both had elected Tory MLAs prior to 2003.

Current Fort Garry MLA Kerri Irvin-Ross is running in this riding, but the seat is considered to be one to keep an eye on.

Turnout is far above the provincial average.

 

2007 results (Fort Garry)

Kerri Irvin-Ross, NDP 4,291

Shaun McAffrey, PC 2,101

Craig Hildahl, LIB 1,500

Alon Weinberg GRN 266

Turnout: 66 per cent