Brandon--Souris

Brandon--Souris covers the southwestern corner of Manitoba, anchored by Brandon -- the province's second-largest city with a population of roughly fifty thousand -- and extending westward to the Saskatchewan border and south to the North Dakota boundary. The riding is vast and predominantly rural, encompassing the communities of Virden, Souris, Killarney, Carberry, and Boissevain, along with Canadian Forces Base Shilo. Brandon serves as the commercial, healthcare, and educational hub for the broader Westman region.

Candidates

Larry Maguire (Conservative) -- The incumbent MP, first elected in a November 2013 by-election. Raised in the Elgin area of southwestern Manitoba, Maguire graduated with a diploma in agriculture from the University of Manitoba and operated Maguire Farms Limited from 1975 to 2001. He was named mid-Canada's Outstanding Young Farmer in 1986 and served as president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. Before entering federal politics, he represented the riding of Arthur-Virden as a Progressive Conservative MLA in the Manitoba legislature from 1999 to 2013.

Ashley Duguay (NDP) -- The New Democratic Party candidate in the riding.

Terry Hayward (Liberal) -- A Brandon native with a career in federal agriculture and Canada's external affairs department.

Bill Tiessen (Green Party) -- The Green Party candidate for Brandon--Souris.

Robin Lussier ran for the People's Party, Rebecca Hein for the Christian Heritage Party, and Vanessa Hamilton and Robert Eastcott as independents.

About the Riding

Agriculture is the foundational industry of Brandon--Souris. The surrounding prairies produce wheat, canola, and pulse crops, while cattle and hog operations dot the countryside. Maple Leaf Foods operates a large pork processing plant in Brandon that has been one of the city's major employers, drawing immigrant workers from Latin America and the Philippines since the facility opened in 1999.

Canadian Forces Base Shilo, located approximately thirty-five kilometres east of Brandon, is home to the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and serves as a major army training facility. The base injects significant economic activity into the region through both military and civilian employment. Brandon University and Assiniboine Community College provide post-secondary education and workforce training, while the Brandon Regional Health Centre serves as the tertiary care facility for southwestern Manitoba.

Brandon--Souris has been reliably conservative at the federal level for decades, though Maguire's initial 2013 by-election victory came by a margin of fewer than four hundred votes, demonstrating the seat was not beyond challenge. Oil extraction near Virden and in the broader southwest contributes to the local economy, while Spruce Woods Provincial Park and Turtle Mountain Provincial Park offer recreational opportunities and protect remnants of the native prairie landscape. Grain transportation logistics, rural broadband access, and agricultural research funding were prominent local issues heading into the 2019 campaign.