Winnipeg Centre

Winnipeg Centre takes in the urban core of Manitoba's capital, covering neighbourhoods from the North End and West End through Wolseley, the Exchange District, and portions of downtown south to Osborne Village. The riding contains The Forks — a gathering place with six thousand years of Indigenous history — and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, as well as the Exchange District's concentration of heritage buildings.

Candidates

Leah Gazan (NDP) — A member of Wood Mountain Lakota Nation in Saskatchewan, Gazan grew up in Thompson, Manitoba, and spent decades as an educator and community organizer in Winnipeg's inner city. She served as president of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg from 2011 to 2015, working on poverty reduction, housing insecurity, and violence against women. She also taught at the University of Winnipeg's Faculty of Education. Her nomination meeting drew more than 900 NDP supporters.

Robert-Falcon Ouellette (Liberal) — The incumbent since 2015, Ouellette was a Canadian Armed Forces veteran with more than two decades of military service, including time in the Royal Canadian Navy. Before entering federal politics, he served as director of Aboriginal Focus Programs at the University of Manitoba and finished third in the 2014 Winnipeg mayoral race. He had won the riding from the NDP in 2015.

Ryan Dyck (Conservative) — Dyck campaigned on advocacy for community organizations addressing poverty and addictions in the riding's inner-city neighbourhoods, and called for federal funding for a 24/7 safe space for at-risk youth.

Andrea Shalay (Green Party) — Shalay worked with grassroots organizations in the West Broadway area and also served as a candidate for the Manitoba Green Party in the 2019 provincial election.

Yogi Henderson (People's Party) and Stephanie Hein (Christian Heritage Party) also contested the riding.

About the Riding

Winnipeg Centre has long been one of the most economically challenged urban ridings in Canada, with high rates of poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity concentrated in the North End and West End. The riding has large Indigenous, Filipino, and newcomer populations. Major institutional employers include the Health Sciences Centre, the University of Winnipeg, and provincial and municipal government offices. The Exchange District, a National Historic Site, houses a growing arts and technology sector along with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre and Manitoba Museum. The riding carries a deep labour history, as much of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike unfolded in what is now Winnipeg Centre. In 2019, issues of affordable housing, reconciliation, addictions services, and child poverty dominated the campaign.