The 2019 Manitoba general election was held on September 10, 2019, to elect the 57 members to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.
The incumbent Progressive Conservatives, led by Premier Brian Pallister, were re-elected to a second majority government with a loss of two seats. The NDP, led by Wab Kinew, gained six seats and retained their position as the official opposition. The Liberals, led by Dougald Lamont, won the remaining three seats.
Background
Under Manitoba's Elections Act, a general election must be held no later than the first Tuesday of October in the fourth calendar year following the previous election. As the previous election was held in 2016, the latest possible date for the election was October 6, 2020, or if that would have overlapped with a federal election period, the latest possible date would be April 20, 2021.
However, incumbent Premier Brian Pallister announced instead in June 2019 that he would seek to hold the election over a year early, on September 10, 2019, in order to seek "a new mandate to keep moving Manitoba forward." Pallister visited Lieutenant Governor Janice Filmon on August 12 to officially drop the writ and begin the campaign period.
It had been speculated that Pallister would call an early election in order to take advantage of a large lead in opinion polls, and to get the vote out of the way before new and potentially unpopular budget cuts took effect. A poll taken by the Winnipeg Free Press found that while most respondents disagreed with the early election and agreed that Pallister had moved up the date for partisan reasons, such sentiments were unlikely to imperil Pallister's re-election.
Reorganization of electoral divisions
In 2006, the Electoral Divisions Act was amended to provide for the creation of a permanent commission to determine any necessary redistribution of seats in the Legislative Assembly by the end of 2008, and then every tenth year thereafter. Its final report would take effect upon the dissolution of the relevant Legislature. Following a series of hearings and an interim report, the commission's final report was issued in December 2018, which provided for the following changes:
Timeline
2016
- May 3: Government is sworn in
- May 7: Greg Selinger resigns as leader and Flor Marcelino becomes interim Leader of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba.
- September 24: Rana Bokhari resigns as Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party.
- October 21: Judy Klassen becomes interim Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party.
2017
- January 9: Kevin Chief resigns as NDP member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Point Douglas, causing a by-election.
- January 31: NDP MLA Mohinder Saran suspended from the caucus due to sexual harassment allegations.
- June 13: Bernadette Smith elected member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Point Douglas holding the seat for the NDP with a reduced majority.
- June 13: Judy Klassen resigns as interim leader to run for Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party. Paul Brault becomes acting Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party.
- June 30: Progressive Conservative MLA Steven Fletcher expelled from the caucus after breaking with the party on multiple issues.
- September 16: Wab Kinew elected Leader of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba.
- October 21: Dougald Lamont elected Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party.
2018
- March 7: Greg Selinger resigns as NDP member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for St. Boniface, causing a by-election.
- March 21: NDP MLA for Wolseley, Rob Altemeyer, announces that he will not seek re-election.
- July 17: Liberal leader Dougald Lamont elected member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for St. Boniface, gaining the seat from the NDP and winning official party status for the Liberals.
- August 13: Steven Fletcher joins the Manitoba Party.
- September 11: Steven Fletcher becomes Leader of the Manitoba Party.
- October 22: Progressive Conservative MLA Cliff Graydon expelled from the caucus due to sexual harassment allegations.
- December 14: Final Report of the Manitoba Electoral Boundaries Commission released.
- December 14: NDP MLA for Fort Garry-Riverview, James Allum, announces that he will not seek re-election.
2019
- April 3: Progressive Conservative MLA for Kildonan, Nic Curry announces that he will not seek re-election.
- August 12: Premier Pallister visits the lieutenant governor and calls the election for September 10.
- September 10: The election is held.
Results
Results by riding
- Note that names in bold type represent Cabinet members, while italics represent party leaders.
Seats changing hands
Nine seats changed allegiance in 2019: