Winnipeg North was a provincial electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, covering part of the city of Winnipeg. It existed on two separate occasions.
It was initially created for the 1883 provincial election, and abolished with the 1920 election when Winnipeg became a single, ten-member constituency. At first it had one MLA elected using first past the post. In 1914 and 1915 it elected two MLAs in separate contests using first past the post.
Winnipeg North was re-established for the elections of 1949 and 1953 as a four-member constituency electing MLAs using STV. In 1958, it was divided into several single-member constituencies.
Members of the Legislative Assembly
Original constituency The Winnipeg North constituency was created for the 1883 election, when the original Winnipeg constituency was divided into two sections: Winnipeg North and Winnipeg South. It was a single-member constituency until the 1914 election, when it returned two members. In 1914 and 1915 elections, electors of Winnipeg North were allowed to cast one vote for each of the two seats, which were called "Winnipeg North A" and "Winnipeg North B". This "post" system ended in 1920 when the district was rolled into a new single city wide district electing ten through STV.
In the early 20th century, Winnipeg North became known for its large working-class and immigrant communities. Many electors were recent immigrants from Eastern Europe, who profoundly changed the area's political character.
Solomon Hart Green, elected in 1910, was the first Jewish Canadian to serve in a Canadian provincial legislature. Richard Rigg, returned in 1915 for Winnipeg North "B", was the first Social Democrat elected in Manitoba.
Winnipeg North NamePartyTook officeLeft officeElias Conklin Liberal 1883 1886 Edward Drewry Conservative 1886 1888 Lyman Jones Liberal 1888 1892 Peter McIntyre Liberal 1892 1899 William Neilson Conservative 1899 1903 Sampson Walker Conservative 1903 1907 John F. Mitchell Conservative 1907 1910 Solomon Hart Green Liberal 1910 1914
Winnipeg North A NamePartyTook officeLeft officeJoseph P. Foley Conservative 1914 1915 Robert Newton Lowery Liberal 1915 1920
Winnipeg North B NamePartyTook officeLeft officeDaniel McLean Conservative 1914 1915 Richard Rigg Social Democrat 1915 1917Robert Jacob Unionist-Liberal 1917 1920
Re-established constituency The single constituency of Winnipeg was divided into three sections for the 1949 election: Winnipeg North, Winnipeg Centre and Winnipeg South. All three constituencies elected four members to the legislature, with electors choosing members by a single transferable ballot.
Winnipeg North had very prominent Jewish and Ukrainian communities in this period, and was by far the most left-wing section of the city. Bill Kardash, Manitoba's only Communist Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), was returned for Winnipeg North in both 1949 and 1953. The socialist Cooperative Commonwealth Federation was the area's dominant party, and returned two members in both elections.
The constituency was eliminated at the 1958 election, when Manitoba abolished its multi-member seats. Several single-member constituencies were created in its place.
Winnipeg North (1949–1958) NamePartyTook officeLeft officeMorris Gray CCF 1949 1958 John Hawryluk CCF 1949 1958 Bill Kardash Communist 1949 1958Frank Chester 1949 1953 Alexander Turk 1953 1958
Election results
1883
1886
1888
1892
1896
1899
1903
1907
1910
1914
Winnipeg North A
Winnipeg North B
1915
Winnipeg North A
Winnipeg North B
1918 by-election
1949
1953
See also List of Manitoba provincial electoral districts Canadian provincial electoral districts
References