LIVE: Federal election 2025 in Manitoba

Gazan ensures NDP stay on electoral map in Manitoba

Leah Gazan has held her Winnipeg Centre seat in a tough battle with Liberal challenger Rahul Walia.

Gazan, an Indigenous and anti-poverty activist first elected in 2019, took nearly 40 per cent of the vote, five points more than Walia.

In winning Winnipeg Centre, Gazan kept true to the NDP record of always having at least one MP from Manitoba since the party was formed in 1961.

Liberals take Winnipeg West

It’s out with the old and in with the former as Liberal candidate Dr. Doug Eyolfson, an emergency room physician at Grace Hospital, took this renamed riding back from the Tories.

Eyolfson, who had held the former Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley seat from 2015 to 2019, defeated two-term Tory MP Marty Morantz.

With 166 of 191 polls reporting, Eyolfson had 52.3 per cent of the vote – 10 points more than Morantz.

Tory incumbent in Winnipeg West in nailbiter fight

The ballots in Winnipeg West were still being counted around 10:15 p.m. and the two major candidates were neck and neck around 10:15 p.m., although Tory incumbent Marty Morantz had a slight lead.

Through Winnipeg West, Morantz and Liberal contender Dr. Doug Eyolfson appeared to take different approaches to Election Day. A small convoy of trucks and sign-twirlers on sidewalks carried blue placards calling on voters to cast their ballot for Morantz all throughout the day. Eyolfson stuck to the bus benches and lawn signs that had been in place all month.

Eyolfson, an emergency room physician who was a common commentator on the state of Manitoba’s health care system during the COVID-19 pandemic, declined to speak with media until after the ballots were counted.

Eyolfson’s supporters, including longtime volunteer Aruna Hall, packed a hotel after the polls closed Monday.

“He’s very genuine, and I think he really cares about the mission he wants to accomplish,” she said.

Meanwhile, Morantz’s campaign headquarters were filled with Conservatives glued to news coverage playing on a small television in the small office.

Morantz was not at his campaign headquarters as of 10 p.m.

Carr keeps Winnipeg South Centre in Liberal fold

Liberal MP Ben Carr — who won the seat in a 2023 byelection after his father, MP Jim Carr, died — appears set to hold  Winnipeg South Centre.

Carr has twice as many votes as Tory Royden Brousseau and 63.1 per cent of the vote with half the polls counted.

Bellwether riding of Winnipeg South tolling for Liberals

Voters in Winnipeg South are keeping true to the riding’s reputation as a reliable bellwether.

With Liberal Mark Carney projected to remain as the prime minister, it appears Liberal incumbent Terry Duguid will also remain as the riding’s MP.

With nearly a third of the riding’s polls counted, Duguid has 61.5 per cent of the vote — a share that has him well ahead of his winning margin in 2021. Tory Janice Morley-Lecomte has 32.7 per cent of the vote.

A longtime advocate on environmental issues, Duguid has represented the riding for a decade and was appointed climate change minister by former prime minister Justin Trudeau weeks before he stepped down.

Residents show support for Trump’s 51st state proposal on election night

A duo dressed up in pro-Trump attire to visit a Kildonan-St. Paul polling station at the eleventh hour on Monday to promote their support for Manitoba joining the United States.

Dan Kohanchuk, 39, wore a red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap to a polling station in Garden City Shopping Centre. Simon Szklarski, 34, chose a baseball cap with “Great State of Canada” and “51” embroidered on it.

“If there was a 51st state option on the ballot, I would 100 per cent check that off — 110 per cent,” said Kohanchuk, an entrepreneur with an apparel company who designs hats that show his affinity for U.S. President Donald Trump.

Kohanchuk said he settled on a vote for Conservative MP Raquel Dancho because he believes in her party at large, even though leader Pierre Poilievre has indicated he would maintain Canada’s sovereignty.

Szklarski said he was frustrated no candidates were campaigning on joining the U.S. and did not vote in protest. He decided to tag along with his friend for moral support, he said.

Lamoureux leads in Winnipeg North

Winnipeg North looks to join Canada’s renewed red wave as incumbent Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux takes the lead.

Lamoureux held 57.1 per cent of the vote with 60 of 152 polls reporting.

Conservative candidate Rachel Punzalan is coming up second with 35 per cent of the vote. Also running are NDP candidate Adebayo Akinrogunde, People’s Party of Canada candidate Jessica Bailon, Communist Party candidate Sarah Borbridge.

Lamoureux has represented Winnipeg North for the past 15 years. He was the most popular Winnipeg candidate in the 2021 federal election, winning 52.3 per cent of the vote – a higher percentage of support than any of the other urban candidates pulled in for their respective ridings.

Before Lamoureux won the seat for the Liberals in a 2010 byelection, the riding was an NDP stronghold dating to the early 1960s. It flipped only once – to the Liberals for two terms ending in 1997 – before Lamoureux entered the federal race. Since then, he’s built a reputation as a hardworking public servant who meets with constituents weekly at a Keewatin Street McDonald’s.

Portage-Lisgar voters stay true to Tories

Conservative MP Branden Leslie appears to have easily secured a second term as the MP for the Tory stronghold of Portage-Lisgar.

With more than a third of polls reporting, Leslie has nearly 70 per cent of the vote. Liberal Robert Kreis is well back with 21.6 per cent of the vote.

Leslie, a former Conservative political staffer and MP Candice Bergen’s campaign manager, won the seat in a byelection after she resigned in 2023.

Bezan has commanding lead in Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman

Conservative MP James Bezan appears to be a lock on winning his eighth race to represent the rural riding.

With 55 polls counted, Bezan has 61.3 per cent of the vote, well in front of Liberal challenger Ronda Nichols, who is at 27.4 per cent. The former rancher has been the rural riding’s MP since 2004.

Duguid has early lead in Winnipeg South

By 9:45 p.m., about 50 Liberal volunteers had gathered at Nicolino’s, an Italian restaurant off Pembina Highway, to show their support for Winnipeg South candidate Terry Duguid. Drinks were being poured and the mood was high, as the room filled up.

As initial polls rolled in, volunteers energetically boo-ed or cheered – depending on what candidate flashed on screen as in the lead.

A buffet of pizza, pasta and salad fuelled the room, along with carafes of coffee (decaf and regular). Especially loud whoops went up the TV screens showed CBC News projecting the Liberals would form government, as well as when early polls showed Mark Carney in the lead in his Nepean riding.

One Liberal volunteer, Kay, who didn’t want to disclose her full name, said she feels the Liberals really excel at “celebrating what makes us uniquely Canada.” Kay, who is 21 years old and has been volunteering since the start of the election, said the camaraderie of the campaign team has been “absolutely wonderful.”

When out door-knocking, Kay said, the biggest concerns she heard from voters had to do with just the threats from the U.S. around trade and Canadian sovereignty, as well as the cost of living here in Canada.

“I was always going to vote Liberal, but once Carney came in, that gave me more of a sense of ‘this is urgent,’ and especially with the United States’ tariffs and threats,” Kay said. “I love this country so much and I believe that the Liberal party really stands for Canada.”

At 9:45 p.m., 10 of 166 polls had been reported in Winnipeg South, with Duguid in the (very early) lead, though keeping tabs on the polls minute-by-minute was challenging, as Elections Canada’s website is not functioning properly.

Liberal Carr leading in Winnipeg South Centre

Cheers erupted at the Masonic Memorial Centre as supporters of Liberal incumbent Ben Carr entered the large hall with dozens of supporters lined up to congratulate him.

Carr was comfortably leading his Winnipeg South Centre riding with 64.2 per cent of the tallied vote, as Conservative candidate Royden Brousseau lagged behind at 29.5 per cent.

“I’ve been told we’re tracking toward a strong, Liberal majority government, and I don’t know if we’ve hit that mark yet, but what I do know is Mark Carney will continue to lead this country as the Prime Minister,” Carr said.

“It’s looking good, and we’re hoping it’s going to turn into a majority,” said Jim Cornelius, who co-chaired Carr’s canvassing operation. “It’s still close, but we’re certainly pleased to see what’s happened given the situation we were in just a few months ago.”

Carr’s Winnipeg South Centre riding hadn’t flashed on the screen, but supporters were confident he’d earn the checkmark.

“We knocked on a lot of doors, and the reception for Ben and for Mark Carney was astounding,” Cornelius said.

Carr won the riding’s 2023 by-election, taking over from Jim Carr, his father, who died in December 2022 while in office.

Mazier running strong in Riding Mountain

Farmer Dan Mazier is plowing his way into a third term in Ottawa as the Tory candidate has already built up a big lead in a riding that has only voted Conservative since being created in 2015.

With 45 of 250 polls reporting, Mazier has 64.5 per cent of the vote in Riding Mountain, well ahead of Liberal challenger Terry Hayward at 25.7 per cent.

Liberal underdog anxiously awaits results in Kildonan-St. Paul

Liberal rookie Thomas Naaykens paced around a warehouse decorated in red and white streamers and balloons shortly after the polls closed in Kildonan-St. Paul on Monday.

“I’d like the time to go by a little quicker,” the 36-year-old said, followed by a nervous chuckle, between stints of making small talk with his supporters and glancing at ever-changing early polling results on a live national broadcast.

The first-time candidate, who is currently on leave from the Canadian Armed Forces, is up against two-term Conservative MP Raquel Dancho.

The riding, which encompasses north Winnipeg and surrounding municipalities, has been blue for all but one term since its inception in 2004. The Liberals took it in 2015 under then-freshly minted leader Justin Trudeau.

Despite Naaykens’ nerves and physical exhaustion – by his team’s estimates, he walked an average of 15 kilometres daily over the 36-day campaign, he said he felt optimistic. “What I was hearing at the doors was people want stability,” he added.

Liberal volunteers erupted into cheers when their candidate’s name appeared on the broadcast, showing he was leading by 60 votes. Supporter Donna McDonald wiped tears of excitement from her eyes.

Dancho, who is vying for a third term on Parliament Hill, gathered with supporters at her campaign office on Henderson Highway. The 35-year-old incumbent’s re-election campaign barred entry to the media, pending the results of the local race.

Provencher voters set to return Falk to Ottawa

Conservative MP Ted Falk is on course to win southeastern Manitoba riding of Provencher for a fifth time.

While only 25 polls have been counted, Falk has a commanding lead over the Liberals, taking 68 per cent of the vote in the traditional Tory district.

Conservative in party and in social views, Falk has opposed abortion, is critical of gender-diverse views and told local media while campaigning that a Liberal win would lead to a “weak, woke government.”

Councillor remains hopeful for Elmwood-Transcona’s NDP incumbent

Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski) joined a quiet crowd at Junction 59 Roadhouse to cheer on NDP incumbent Leila Dance.

Elmwood-Transcona results hadn’t yet rolled in. Eadie described himself as “really hopeful,” though riding boundaries changed in Elmwood-Transcona during a 2022 boundary redistribution.

The change, which pulls in rural areas like Dugald and removes some of Kildonan, could make the area more Conservative, Eadie noted.

“Everybody’s in for a tough fight this time,” he said. “(But) I’m always hopeful… We’ll see how it goes.”

Outside, trucks toting Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds’ signs drove by. The trucks had been making rounds Monday.

Winnipeg West Liberal volunteers hopeful as polls come in

A small, but growing, crowd of red-clad supporters filled the Holiday Inn to cheer for Dr. Doug Eyolfson, the Liberal contender challenging Conservative incumbent Marty Morantz.

Eyolfson arrived at the hotel just past 9 p.m. His campaign manager told the Free Press he would not be speaking to the press until the vote in his riding was decided.

His supporters watched a set of projectors playing live news coverage of Canada-wide polls, and broke out into cheers every time a Manitoba Liberal was portrayed.

Long-time Liberal volunteer Aruna Hall said she remained hopeful Eyolfson would take the riding back from Morantz.

“He’s very genuine, and I think he really cares about the mission he wants to accomplish,” she said.

Early ballot counting just past 9 p.m. Monday suggested a small lead for Morantz.

Former MP Vandal ‘cautiously optimistic’ at St. Boniface-St. Vital HQ

Former St. Boniface-St. Vital Liberal MP Dan Vandal watched election polls with cautious optimism at Fort Gibraltar Monday evening.

“I think (Liberal candidate Ginette Lavack is) passionate, she’s qualified and she’s anchored in the community and that’s what you need to represent the constituency,” Vandal said as results began rolling in.

The venue at Whittier Park was the site of Lavack’s election watch party. Dozens of Lavack’s family and supporters mingled around tables decorated with miniature Canada flags and Liberal red napkins while live election coverage buzzed on a projector.

Vandal’s entrance at Fort Gibraltar was met with applause from guests.

The longtime politician announced last year he was retiring from politics and would not seek re-election.

After polls in Manitoba closed, guests cheered on as Liberal candidates flashed across the screen during live results coverage and let out “boos” when the projector showed Conservative candidates.

Polls close in Manitoba

Polls have now closed across Manitoba in a federal election that has already seen a record-setting number of voters mark their ballots in advance polls.

A total of 229,379 ballots were cast across the province over the four-day long Easter weekend — a 22-per cent increase from the advance turnout in 2021.

• Read more: Record number of Manitobans voted in advance polls

Manitoba has 14 ridings up for grabs and our journalists will be bringing you the latest news from campaign headquarters around the province.

Winnipeg South Centre runs out of ballots, briefly

A polling station in the riding of Winnipeg South Centre ran out of ballots briefly Monday afternoon.

Polling station No. 57, located at River Heights Community Centre on Grosvenor Avenue, ran out of ballots for about 40 minutes, Elections Canada confirmed. During that time, voters were asked to wait or to return later.

“The agency goes to great lengths to try to prevent this from happening,” Marie-France Kenny of Elections Canada told the Free Press about two hours before polls were set to close at 8:30 p.m. Monday. “This does happen, not very often, but it does.”

Thomas, who asked that his last name not be used, said he was turned away from the polling station at 3:55 p.m. after he was told it had run out of ballots. He was asked to return later to cast his vote.

“I walked in and (an Elections Canada worker) asked for my voting card. And she went, ‘Oh, no — No. 57,'” said Thomas, 25.

“I got home, I was like, that’s kind of insane,” said Thomas, who planned to go back and cast his ballot before the polls closed Monday night.