Churchill—Keewatinook Aski

Churchill—Keewatinook Aski spans the northern four-fifths of Manitoba, covering more than 420,000 square kilometres — making it the fifth-largest federal riding in Canada by area. The riding stretches from the southern tip of Lake Winnipeg northward to the Nunavut boundary and westward to the Saskatchewan border, encompassing the port town of Churchill on Hudson Bay, the mining and service centre of Thompson, The Pas, Flin Flon, and dozens of First Nations communities accessible only by air or winter road. The name combines the historic port town with the Cree words for "northern land." The riding has the highest proportion of First Nations residents of any federal constituency in Canada, at over 60 percent.

Candidates

Rebecca Chartrand (Liberal) is an Anishinaabe, Inninew, and Metis leader from Treaty 4 territory in Manitoba. She holds a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Education from the University of Manitoba, where her graduate research focused on Anishinaabe pedagogy and land-based learning. Chartrand spent 25 years in education leadership at the K–12 and post-secondary levels, including serving as vice-president of Indspire, a national Indigenous charity, where she oversaw a record $20 million in bursaries and scholarships in 2021. She is also president and CEO of Indigenous Strategy, a management consulting firm. Chartrand previously ran in the riding in 2015, finishing within roughly 900 votes of the NDP incumbent.

Niki Ashton (NDP) was born in Thompson in 1982 and holds a bachelor's degree in global political economy from the University of Manitoba and a master's in international affairs from Carleton University. First elected in 2008 at age 25, Ashton represented the riding for five consecutive terms and served as NDP critic for post-secondary education, status of women, and rural development. She ran for the federal NDP leadership in both 2012 and 2017, finishing seventh and third respectively. Ashton speaks English, French, Greek, and Spanish.

Lachlan De Nardi (Conservative) ran as the Conservative candidate in the riding, campaigning on resource development and upgrading the Port of Churchill for expanded shipping.

Dylan Young (People's Party) ran as the People's Party candidate, focusing on fiscal restraint and immigration policy.

About the Riding

Churchill—Keewatinook Aski is defined by its vastness, its Indigenous communities, and the logistical challenges of life in Canada's north. Thompson, with a population of roughly 13,000, is the riding's largest centre and serves as the regional hub for healthcare, government services, and mining. The Pas and Flin Flon anchor the western portion of the riding, while Churchill on Hudson Bay is home to the Port of Churchill — Canada's only Arctic deep-water port — and a growing polar bear tourism industry.

The riding's economy rests on mining, hydroelectric generation, forestry, trapping, and the public sector. Manitoba Hydro's generating stations along the Nelson and Churchill rivers produce a significant share of the province's electricity. Many of the riding's First Nations communities face persistent challenges including boil-water advisories, inadequate housing, limited healthcare access, and a lack of all-season roads.

Campaigning in Churchill—Keewatinook Aski presents unique difficulties: many communities are reachable only by charter aircraft, and the sheer distances involved make door-to-door canvassing across the entire riding effectively impossible. In the 2025 campaign, the most pressing issues were clean drinking water infrastructure on reserves, housing shortages in northern communities, the high cost of food and fuel in remote areas, healthcare staffing in northern clinics, and the future of the Port of Churchill as a potential route for resource exports.