Winnipeg South Centre

Winnipeg South Centre is an urban riding that captures many of Winnipeg's most established and affluent neighbourhoods, stretching from portions of downtown south of Portage Avenue through River Heights, Crescentwood, Wellington Crescent, and Osborne Village to the southwestern suburbs of Tuxedo, Grant Park, and Linden Woods. The constituency straddles the Assiniboine River for much of its length and includes some of the city's most recognizable streetscapes—the elm-canopied avenues of River Heights, the boutique-lined blocks of Academy Road and Corydon Avenue, and the bohemian density of Osborne Village, Winnipeg's most densely populated neighbourhood at roughly 12,745 residents across 93 hectares.

Candidates

Jim Carr (Liberal) — Born in 1951, Carr was a professional oboist who played with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra from ages 16 to 21 before pursuing a career in journalism as an editorial writer and columnist with the Winnipeg Free Press and CBC Radio. He later became founding CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba and served in the Manitoba Legislature from 1988 to 1992. First elected federally in 2015 with nearly 60% of the vote, he was appointed Minister of Natural Resources and served in cabinet until being diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2019, after which he took on the role of special representative to the Prairies. He was re-elected in 2021 for a third term.

Joyce Bateman (Conservative) — A chartered accountant who trained at the Banff School of Fine Arts and put herself through the Ivey School of Business at Western by playing viola in the London Symphony Orchestra in Ontario, Bateman articled with Price Waterhouse in Winnipeg and holds the CPA, CA and ICD.D designations. She served two terms as chairperson of the Winnipeg School Board before being elected MP for Winnipeg South Centre from 2011 to 2015, sitting on the finance, public accounts, industry, and official languages committees.

Julia Riddell (NDP) — A practising clinical psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Manitoba, Riddell completed her honours Bachelor of Science in psychology and neuroscience with a minor in peace studies at McMaster University, followed by a Master's and PhD at York University focused on community-based research benefiting youth, Indigenous peoples, and those with mental-health challenges. She moved to Winnipeg in 2018 to complete her residency.

Chase Wells (PPC) — Wells ran as the People's Party of Canada candidate in Winnipeg South Centre for the 2021 election.

About the Riding

Winnipeg South Centre is a riding of considerable socioeconomic contrast beneath its generally prosperous surface. Tuxedo—a planned residential enclave founded by a group of businessmen between 1903 and 1910—features sprawling mansions and remains one of Winnipeg's wealthiest neighbourhoods. River Heights and Wellington Crescent offer stately character homes and a culinary scene anchored by Corydon Avenue's patios and Academy Road's boutiques. Yet the riding also takes in portions of the inner city near Osborne Village and West Broadway, where rental housing predominates and incomes drop sharply.

Culturally, the riding is home to the Assiniboine Park and Zoo, the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden, and proximity to the Winnipeg Art Gallery—which houses the world's largest collection of Inuit art in its Qaumajuq gallery. The neighbourhood of Grant Park is anchored by the shopping centre of the same name and Pan Am Pool, a legacy of the 1967 Pan American Games.

The riding has historically been competitive between Liberals and Conservatives, with the NDP consistently placing third but polling competitively in recent cycles. Its well-educated, professional electorate tends to prioritize issues of economic management, health care, arts and culture funding, and urban infrastructure. The 2012 redistribution expanded the riding southward to incorporate Linden Woods and the Pembina Strip, absorbing rapid population growth in the Waverley West development zone.