NDP’s Simard wins in Brandon East

By: Kyle Darbyson Posted: 9:28 AM CDT Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023

The NDP won a constituency in the Wheat City on Tuesday night, with the party claiming Brandon East for the first time since 2016.

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The NDP won a constituency in the Wheat City on Tuesday night, with the party claiming Brandon East for the first time since 2016.

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The NDP won a constituency in the Wheat City on Tuesday night, with the party claiming Brandon East for the first time since 2016.

Glen Simard, a teacher from École Harrison and a minor hockey coach, defeated Progressive Conservative incumbent Len Isleifson and captured more than 55 per cent of the vote.

This NDP victory was part of an orange surge across Manitoba, as the party won a majority government.

Brandon East NDP candidate Glen Simard cheers with supporters on Tuesday evening after winning his seat in the Manitoba legislature. (Tim Smith / The Brandon Sun)

Liberal candidate Trenton Zazalak captured around 4.4 per cent of the vote in Brandon East.

The enthusiasm of NDP voters throughout the province was matched by party supporters in Brandon East, many of whom gathered at Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 3 to watch the results come in.

The crowd was cautiously optimistic earlier in the night and grew jubilant as the hours rolled by, reaching a crescendo at around 10:30 p.m., when Simard’s victory was all but guaranteed.

Talking to his supporters after the call was made, Simard thanked them for their enthusiasm throughout his lengthy campaign, which began when he announced his candidacy in December 2021. He described his campaign as the “longest job interview ever.”

Simard got busy knocking on doors throughout Brandon’s most hotly contested riding, putting issues such as health care, education and affordable housing at the forefront of his messaging.

“I think people were just ready for change,” he said. “There were some issues that were at the top of everyone’s tongues. The health-care agenda that we presented towards Manitobans resonated, but also an overarching feeling of being somewhat isolated from government. And that’s something that we want to work towards reversing.”

Isleifson turned Brandon East blue in 2016 for the first time since the constituency’s inception.

Speaking to the Brandon Sun after his defeat, Isleifson congratulated Simard for his victory and NDP candidate Quentin Robinson for his strong showing in Brandon West.

“Their platforms I don’t agree with, but you know, they’re just people out there putting the name on a ballot, and I gotta give them credit for that,” Isleifson said.

Isleifson’s 2016 victory was part of a PC party sweep in the Brandon constituencies, along with Cliff Cullen in Spruce Woods and Reg Helwer in Brandon West.

Cullen and Helwer decided not to seek re-election.

Tory candidate Grant Jackson won in Spruce Woods, defeating NDP candidate Melissa Ghidoni and Liberal Michelle Budiwski.

The race in Brandon West was too close to call, with Tory candidate Wayne Balcaen leading the NDP’s Quentin Robinson by nearly 100 votes.

— Brandon Sun, With files from Ian Hitchen