Provencher

Provencher covers the southeastern corner of Manitoba, stretching from the outskirts of Winnipeg to the Ontario border in the east and the U.S. border in the south. The riding is centred on the city of Steinbach — one of the fastest-growing small cities in Canada outside Alberta — and includes the towns of Niverville, Ste. Anne, and St-Pierre-Jolys, as well as the rural municipalities of Hanover, La Broquerie, De Salaberry, and Springfield. Incumbent Conservative Ted Falk, who has represented the riding since winning a 2013 byelection, won a fifth term in 2025.

Candidates

Ted Falk (Conservative) was born in 1960 and built a career as owner of Diamond Construction and Gravel, a construction and gravel-crushing company based in the Steinbach area. He served 24 years on the board of Steinbach Credit Union — Manitoba's largest credit union — including 16 years as president. First elected in the 2013 Provencher byelection to succeed former cabinet minister Vic Toews, Falk has served on parliamentary committees covering agriculture, finance, justice, and public safety.

Trevor Kirczenow (Liberal) is a professional violinist who has performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra since 2007. He holds a degree in political science from the University of British Columbia and lives on a small farm in the riding with his husband and two children. This was his third consecutive campaign as the Liberal candidate in Provencher. Kirczenow has been an advocate for provincial pharmacare to help cover costs of medications and medical devices.

Brandy Schmidt (NDP) ran as the NDP candidate in the riding.

Noel Gautron (People's Party) ran as the People's Party candidate in the riding.

Blair Mahaffy (Green Party) ran as the Green Party candidate in the riding.

About the Riding

Provencher's identity is deeply shaped by its Mennonite heritage. The region was settled in the 1870s by German-speaking Mennonite families from Russia, who established dozens of villages across what was known as the East Reserve. Steinbach, the riding's commercial hub with a 2021 census population of roughly 17,800, grew out of this settlement and retains a strong entrepreneurial culture rooted in the Mennonite tradition of self-reliance and community enterprise. The Mennonite Heritage Village museum in Steinbach preserves and interprets this history.

The riding is linguistically diverse: while English is dominant, German, French, and Russian are all spoken in significant numbers, reflecting both the Mennonite settlement and the francophone communities along the Red River and in towns like Ste. Anne and St-Pierre-Jolys. The riding's francophone presence connects it to Manitoba's broader Franco-Manitoban heritage.

Provencher's economy is anchored by agriculture, manufacturing, and the service sector. The rapid growth of Steinbach and Niverville — the latter driven by its proximity to Winnipeg as a commuter community — has created demand for new housing, schools, and healthcare facilities. In the 2025 campaign, the key issues were the cost of living, U.S. tariffs affecting agricultural exports, healthcare access in growing communities, and immigration policy. The riding has been held by the Conservatives and their predecessors for more than two decades.