Churchill

Churchill is a vast northern riding covering approximately the northern four-fifths of Manitoba — over 500,000 square kilometres of boreal forest, tundra, and Canadian Shield. The riding's population centres include the city of Thompson, the towns of The Pas and Flin Flon, and the port town of Churchill on Hudson Bay, along with dozens of remote First Nations communities and smaller settlements connected by rail, air, and winter roads.

Candidates

Niki Ashton (NDP) — Ashton had won the Churchill seat in the 2008 election at the age of 26, making her the youngest woman elected to Parliament at that time. Born in Thompson, Manitoba, she was the daughter of Steve Ashton, who served as a longtime NDP member of the Manitoba legislature for the provincial riding of Thompson. She held a bachelor's degree in global political economy from the University of Manitoba and a master's degree in international affairs from Carleton University. In Parliament, she was elected chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women and served as the NDP critic for post-secondary education and youth.

Wally Daudrich (Conservative) — Daudrich was a Churchill-based businessman who owned and operated the Lazy Bear Lodge and Lazy Bear Expeditions, an ecotourism operation in Churchill. He had also run as the Conservative candidate in Churchill in the 2008 election.

Sydney Garrioch (Liberal) — Garrioch ran as the Liberal candidate in Churchill.

Alberteen Spence (Green Party) — Spence stood as the Green Party candidate in the riding.

About the Riding

Churchill in 2011 was the fifth-largest federal riding in Canada by area and one of the most sparsely populated. The riding had the highest proportion of First Nations residents of any federal constituency in the country, with over 60 percent of the population identifying as Indigenous, including significant Cree, Oji-Cree, Dene, and Metis communities. Dozens of First Nations reserves were scattered across the riding, many of them accessible only by air or winter road.

The city of Thompson, the riding's largest population centre with roughly 13,000 residents, was built around the nickel mining operations established by the International Nickel Company (Inco) in the 1950s. By 2011, the Thompson nickel mine and smelter complex was operated by Vale, which had acquired Inco in 2006, and remained the city's dominant employer. Flin Flon, straddling the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border, was another mining community, while The Pas served as a regional service centre for the surrounding area.

The port town of Churchill, situated on the western shore of Hudson Bay, was a strategic northern gateway and a popular destination for polar bear and beluga whale ecotourism. The town had no road connection to the rest of Canada and was served solely by the Hudson Bay Railway and by air. The railway was a critical lifeline for Churchill and for grain shipments through the Port of Churchill. Federal issues in the riding centred on Indigenous services and treaty obligations, health care access in remote communities, the future of the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill, and support for the northern mining sector.