Brandon—Souris

Brandon—Souris covers the southwestern corner of Manitoba, anchored by the city of Brandon — the province's second-largest city with a population of roughly 51,000 — and extending south and east through a patchwork of farming communities, including Souris, Virden, and Killarney. The riding stretches to the U.S. border in the south and the Saskatchewan boundary in the west, encompassing Turtle Mountain Provincial Park and the western reaches of Spruce Woods Provincial Park. With longtime MP Larry Maguire stepping aside after 11 years due to health concerns, the 2025 race marked the first open contest in the riding since the 2013 byelection.

Candidates

Grant Jackson (Conservative) was born and raised in Souris and graduated with an honours Bachelor of Arts from Brandon University. He began his career working for MP Larry Maguire before joining the Manitoba Legislature as a political staffer, supporting the Progressive Conservative government on files in justice, families, mental health, and environment. Elected as the provincial MLA for Spruce Woods in the 2023 Manitoba general election, Jackson served as shadow minister for Manitoba Hydro and the Public Utilities Board before resigning his provincial seat in March 2025 to seek the federal Conservative nomination in Brandon—Souris.

Ghazanfar Ali Tarar (Liberal) was acclaimed as the Liberal candidate for Brandon—Souris. A Brandon-area resident, Tarar ran on a platform centred on affordability, trade diversification, and support for rural communities.

Quentin Robinson (NDP) has spent 25 years as a United Church minister and 17 years in private practice as a marriage and family therapist, following an earlier career as a custom grain harvester and livestock producer. A Brandon resident for nine years and a central and western Manitoba community member for three decades, Robinson is active in environmental advocacy, co-chairing the Knox Green Team and serving on the board of the Manitoba Electric Vehicle Association.

About the Riding

Brandon—Souris is defined by agribusiness and the service economy that radiates from Brandon itself. The city is home to a major Maple Leaf Foods pork processing plant employing more than 2,000 workers, Brandon University, and Assiniboine Community College, whose Prairie Innovation Centre expansion will train over 800 students in agriculture-related industries including automation and robotics. The plant and the post-secondary institutions together form the backbone of Brandon's labour market and have driven significant immigration to the city — the 2021 census showed Brandon's visible minority population had grown substantially, fuelled in part by workers recruited for the food processing sector.

Beyond Brandon, the riding's economy runs on grain, oilseed, and livestock operations. Virden, near the Saskatchewan border, sits atop the Bakken oil formation and has benefited from petroleum activity, while Souris and Killarney serve as service centres for surrounding agricultural districts. Turtle Mountain Provincial Park along the U.S. border draws outdoor recreation visitors.

In the 2025 campaign, the dominant concerns were the cost of living, U.S. trade tariffs threatening agricultural exports, healthcare access in rural communities, and housing affordability in Brandon. The riding's deep integration into North American agricultural supply chains made the tariff uncertainty particularly acute for local farm families and food processors.