In South Osborne, your vote will matter

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/08/2015 (3712 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A lot has been written about the upcoming federal election, and much more will be written before election day on Mon., Oct. 19.

Most agree that this election will turn out to be a tight race and that, at this point, more than a month before the campaign would normally have begun, it is too close to call.

Many questions have arisen:

Will the NDP manage to retain its massive support base in Quebec?

What do the results of Alberta’s provincial election mean for federal Conservative support there?

How will Ontario go, especially vote-rich Toronto?

How will the swing ridings play out?

Because of Manitoba’s relatively small population, we aren’t prominent in these discussions. Of the 338 total electoral districts, Manitoba has just 14, only a small percentage of the total.

But there are key ridings that could go either way, and one of them Winnipeg South Centre, the riding that encompasses South Osborne.

Historically, Winnipeg South Centre has been relatively evenly split between Conservatives and Liberals but, from 1988 to 2011 it was considered a Liberal stronghold.

Lloyd Axworthy, once Canada’s foreign affairs minister, whose portfolio included negotiation of several high-profile international treaties, comfortably held the riding until he passed the reins to Anita Neville.

In 2011, Conservative Joyce Bateman edged out incumbent Neville by less than two per cent of the vote.

Winnipeg South Centre is a varied riding, encompassing neighbourhoods as socially, economically, and politically diverse as Lord Roberts and Tuxedo. The population as of 2011 was around 78,000 with around 10,000 living in Riverview and Lord Roberts, and 20,000 living in the provincial electoral district still within Winnipeg South Centre.

It has been a strong support base for the provincial NDP, whose MLA’s head office is located in South Osborne.

Canada’s electoral system is far from perfect, and it’s a guarantee that more than half of the voters in this contentious riding will not see their preferred party elected, no matter what their political affiliation.

South Osborne only holds a small percentage of the total population of its district, which is just one seat. But, considering how close elections can be, it would still be a mistake to think that each vote doesn’t matter.

Andrew Braga is a community correspondent for South Osborne.