Elmwood—Transcona

Elmwood—Transcona sits in the northeastern corner of Winnipeg, covering roughly 50 square kilometres of established residential neighbourhoods including Elmwood, Transcona, East Kildonan, Valley Gardens, Rossmere, and Kildonan Crossing. The riding carries a longstanding reputation as a working-class constituency with deep ties to the railway — Transcona was founded as a Canadian National Railway repair centre in 1912 — though its demographics have diversified in recent decades. The 2025 contest was a rematch between the two candidates who had faced off in the September 2024 byelection, called after NDP MP Daniel Blaikie resigned his seat.

Candidates

Colin Reynolds (Conservative) is a licensed construction electrician with 25 years of experience and a member of IBEW Local 2085. He grew up in the Valley Gardens neighbourhood and has spent his career on job sites mentoring apprentices and delivering construction projects. Reynolds first ran in the 2024 Elmwood—Transcona byelection, where he narrowly lost to Leila Dance, and was endorsed during that campaign by a vice-president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Leila Dance (NDP) is a lifelong Elmwood—Transcona resident who spent over 20 years in the not-for-profit sector, working with the Children's Wish Foundation, the ALS Society of Manitoba, the Kidney Foundation, and Park City West Community Centre. For four years before entering politics, she served as executive director of the Transcona Business Improvement Zone. Dance won the 2024 byelection to replace Daniel Blaikie, becoming the riding's MP for a brief tenure before the 2025 general election.

Ian MacIntyre (Liberal) is a retired teacher who spent 24 years with the River East Transcona School Division and served as president of the Manitoba Teachers' Society. He has lived and volunteered in Winnipeg for more than three decades and previously ran as a Manitoba Liberal candidate in the 2023 provincial election.

Collin Watson (People's Party) ran as the People's Party candidate in the riding.

Nicolas Geddert (Green Party) ran as the Green Party candidate in the riding.

About the Riding

Elmwood—Transcona's identity is rooted in its railway heritage and its concentration of skilled tradespeople. While the CN Rail shops that gave Transcona its reason for being have scaled back over the decades, the neighbourhood retains a strong blue-collar character — roughly a quarter of the riding's labour force works in trades, equipment operation, manufacturing, or utilities, according to the 2021 census. The Kildonan Crossing commercial district and the Transcona retail corridor along Regent Avenue provide the riding's main shopping areas.

The riding has traditionally been a stronghold for the NDP, held by figures such as Bill Blaikie and his son Daniel Blaikie, but demographic shifts and new housing development in areas like Kildonan Crossing and Canterbury Park have introduced more suburban, politically competitive voters. The 2024 byelection signalled the riding's emerging competitiveness, with the Conservative candidate finishing within striking distance of the NDP.

In the 2025 campaign, the key issues were the cost of living, skilled trades training and apprenticeship opportunities, public safety, transit infrastructure, and housing affordability. The contest between Reynolds and Dance was closely watched as a bellwether for whether the Conservatives could make inroads into traditionally NDP territory in Winnipeg's northeast.