Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK — 2015 Federal Election Results Map
Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River — 2015 Election Results
📌 The Canadian federal electoral district of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River was contested in the 2015 election.
🏆 Georgina Jolibois, the NDP-New Democratic Party candidate, won the riding with 10,319 votes (34.2% of the vote).
🥈 The runner-up was Lawrence Joseph (Liberal) with 10,237 votes (33.9%), defeated by a margin of 82 votes.
📊 Other notable candidates: Rob Clarke (Conservative, 30%).
Riding information
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Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River encompasses the entire northern half of Saskatchewan, making it the third-largest federal riding located within a province. Spanning roughly 800 kilometres from its southern edge near Meadow Lake to the Northwest Territories border, the riding traverses boreal forest, Canadian Shield, and subarctic taiga. Major communities include Meadow Lake, La Loche, La Ronge, Buffalo Narrows, and Creighton.
Candidates
Georgina Jolibois (NDP) — Before seeking federal office, Jolibois served as mayor of La Loche, Saskatchewan, a predominantly Dene community in the province’s northwest, from 2003 to 2015. She was well known in the riding’s northern communities for her municipal leadership.
Lawrence Joseph (Liberal) — A former chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN), Joseph brought extensive experience in Indigenous governance and advocacy to the campaign. He had previously run for the NDP before switching to the Liberal Party for the 2015 race.
Rob Clarke (Conservative) — The incumbent since a 2008 by-election, Clarke was a member of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation who served 18 years in the RCMP, attaining the rank of sergeant, before entering politics. He was re-elected in 2008 and 2011.
Warren Koch (Green Party) also sought election in the riding.
About the Riding
With a large majority of the population identifying as Indigenous—among the highest proportions in Saskatchewan and nationally—Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River is home to dozens of First Nations and Métis communities spanning Treaties 5, 6, 8, and 10. The riding’s economy is shaped by natural resources: uranium mining in the Athabasca Basin, where Cameco and Areva operate some of the world’s highest-grade uranium mines, forestry in the boreal belt, commercial fishing, and wild rice harvesting. Meadow Lake, the riding’s largest town, serves as a gateway between the agricultural south and the forested north. Transportation infrastructure is a persistent challenge, with many northern communities accessible only by air or winter roads. The 2015 race was among the closest in the country, with the narrow margin between first and second place triggering a judicial recount. Key federal issues included housing and infrastructure for remote communities, resource development and environmental protection, education funding for First Nations, and clean drinking water.
