Winnipeg South Centre

Winnipeg South Centre captures many of Winnipeg's most established neighbourhoods, stretching from portions of downtown south of Portage Avenue through River Heights, Crescentwood, and Wellington Crescent to the southwestern suburbs of Tuxedo, Grant Park, and Linden Woods. The constituency straddles the Assiniboine River and includes Osborne Village, one of the city's densest and most walkable districts.

Candidates

Jim Carr (Liberal) — A professional oboist who performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra from ages 16 to 21, Carr later worked as a columnist and editorial board member at the Winnipeg Free Press. He co-founded the Business Council of Manitoba in 1998 and served as its president and CEO until 2015. He also served in the Manitoba Legislature from 1988 to 1992. Elected to Parliament in 2015, he was appointed Minister of Natural Resources and later served as Minister of International Trade Diversification from 2018 to 2019.

Joyce Bateman (Conservative) — A chartered accountant who held the CPA, CA and ICD.D designations, Bateman served two terms as chair of the Winnipeg School Board before being elected MP for Winnipeg South Centre from 2011 to 2015. She sat on the finance, public accounts, industry, and official languages committees during her time in Parliament. The 2019 race was a rematch of her 2015 contest against Carr.

Elizabeth Shearer (NDP) — Shearer ran on a platform emphasizing local food systems and environmental policy.

James Beddome (Green Party) — The leader of the Green Party of Manitoba since 2008, Beddome was raised on a livestock farm near Rapid City and worked as a lawyer after graduating from the University of Manitoba's faculty of law. He ran federally in Winnipeg South Centre while continuing to lead the provincial Greens.

Jane MacDiarmid (People's Party) and Linda Marynuk (Christian Heritage Party) also contested the riding.

About the Riding

Winnipeg South Centre blends affluent residential enclaves with denser inner-city pockets. Tuxedo, a planned community dating to the early 1900s, is among the city's wealthiest neighbourhoods, while River Heights and Wellington Crescent offer character homes along elm-canopied avenues. Osborne Village and West Broadway provide a contrast, with rental housing predominating and incomes dropping sharply. Assiniboine Park, spanning roughly 1,100 acres including the adjacent Assiniboine Forest, provides the riding's principal green space. Corydon Avenue and Academy Road are the main commercial corridors, lined with restaurants, patios, and boutique retail. The riding has historically been competitive between Liberals and Conservatives, attracting a well-educated, professional electorate attentive to economic management, health care, arts funding, and urban infrastructure. In 2019, small-business support, climate and energy policy, and middle-class affordability were central campaign themes.