Brandon--Souris

Brandon--Souris stretches across southwestern Manitoba, anchored by Brandon — the province's second-largest city with a population of roughly 51,000 — and radiating outward through a patchwork of prairie farmland, small towns, and the Canadian Forces Base at Shilo. The riding encompasses communities such as Souris, Carberry, Virden, Killarney, and Boissevain, with a total population of approximately 93,930 and some 67,500 registered voters. CFB Shilo, situated 35 kilometres east of Brandon, injects roughly $105 million annually into the regional economy and employs some 1,800 military and civilian personnel. Brandon itself — long known as "The Wheat City" — is home to Brandon University, Assiniboine College, and an Agriculture Canada Research Station, making it the commercial and institutional hub of the Westman region.

Candidates

Larry Maguire (Conservative) was born in Souris, Manitoba, and spent decades as the owner-operator of Maguire Farms Limited near Elgin. A University of Manitoba agriculture graduate named mid-Canada's Outstanding Young Farmer in 1986, Maguire served as a Progressive Conservative MLA in the Manitoba legislature before winning a federal by-election in Brandon--Souris in November 2013. In the House of Commons, his Private Member's Bill C-208 — amending the Income Tax Act to facilitate the transfer of small businesses and family farms — was adopted into law.

Whitney Hodgins (NDP) is a Brandon University graduate and longtime disability-rights advocate who served as Chairperson of the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities. She held leadership roles with the Brandon University Students' Union and the Canadian Federation of Students Manitoba, championing accessibility and mental-health anti-stigma initiatives across the province.

Linda Branconnier (Liberal) ran as the Liberal standard-bearer in Brandon--Souris, campaigning on expanded access to sexual and reproductive health services under the Canada Health Act. Her candidacy represented the party's effort to rebuild its presence in a riding that has leaned Conservative for decades.

Tylor Baer (People's Party) carried the PPC banner in Brandon--Souris, offering voters a populist-conservative alternative focused on reduced government intervention and opposition to pandemic-era public health mandates.

About the Riding

Brandon--Souris has been a fixture on the federal electoral map since 1952, when it was carved from the former Brandon and Souris districts. The riding's economy is overwhelmingly shaped by agriculture — the region produces wheat, canola, and livestock — though CFB Shilo and Brandon's post-secondary institutions provide significant non-agricultural employment. Roughly 2,000 businesses operate in Brandon, with about 350 directly serving the agricultural marketplace.

Demographically, the riding is predominantly English-speaking at 85.8%, with German (4.3%), Spanish (2.3%), and French (1.7%) forming smaller linguistic communities. Mennonite, Indigenous, and Filipino populations contribute to the cultural fabric. About 67% of residents identify as Christian — with the United Church, Catholic, and Anglican denominations most prominent — while 30.5% report no religious affiliation.

The landscape beyond Brandon is quintessential southern prairie: rolling fields of grain punctuated by river valleys, small-town main streets, and elevators silhouetted against wide skies. Souris is known for its swinging bridge, one of the longest pedestrian suspension bridges in Canada, while Carberry sits at the foot of the Manitoba Escarpment near Spruce Woods Provincial Park. The riding's vast geography and dispersed population make door-to-door campaigning a formidable logistical challenge, and local issues — grain transportation bottlenecks, rural broadband access, and the future of agricultural research funding — tend to dominate the political conversation.