Elmwood—Transcona

Elmwood—Transcona occupies the northeastern quadrant of Winnipeg, bringing together the riverside neighbourhood of Elmwood with the railway community of Transcona and portions of East Kildonan and North Kildonan. The riding's identity is shaped by its working-class roots and its historical ties to the Canadian National Railway, whose repair shops were the reason Transcona was built in the early twentieth century.

Candidates

Daniel Blaikie (NDP) — The incumbent MP, first elected in 2015 by a margin of just 61 votes. Blaikie held a bachelor's degree in history and philosophy from the University of Winnipeg and a master's in philosophy from Concordia University, and trained as an electrician before entering politics. His father, Bill Blaikie, represented the riding and its predecessors for the NDP from 1979 to 2008.

Lawrence Toet (Conservative) — A former MP who held the riding from 2011 to 2015, when he lost to Blaikie by the narrowest margin in the country. Born to Dutch immigrant parents, Toet was a partner at Premier Printing, a family-owned printing business in Transcona, for 25 years before entering politics. He sought to reclaim the seat in a 2019 rematch.

Jennifer Malabar (Liberal) — The Liberal candidate in the riding, entering the race as a newcomer to federal politics.

Kelly Manweiler (Green Party) — The Green Party candidate for the riding.

Noel Gautron (People's Party) also sought election.

About the Riding

Transcona owes its existence to the railway. Its name is a portmanteau of "transcontinental" and Lord Strathcona, coined when the Grand Trunk Pacific and National Transcontinental railways chose the site for their western repair shops in 1908. The CN Transcona Shops opened in 1913 and at their peak employed thousands. Locomotive CN 2747, built at the shops in 1926 as the first steam locomotive constructed at the Transcona Shops, is preserved at the Transcona Museum. Though rail employment has declined, the community retains a tight-knit, small-town atmosphere within the larger city.

Elmwood, across the Red River, developed as an industrial suburb in the late nineteenth century and features older housing stock, small commercial strips, and a diverse population. The riding's workforce is heavily concentrated in trades, manufacturing, transportation, and utilities. Organized labour has long shaped local politics, contributing to the NDP's dominance in all but one election since the riding's creation in 1988. The 2019 rematch between Blaikie and Toet drew considerable attention, though Blaikie's margin of victory grew substantially from his razor-thin 2015 win.