Riding Mountain

Riding Mountain is a vast rural riding in western Manitoba, formerly known as Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa before being renamed for the 2025 election cycle. The riding wraps around Riding Mountain National Park — nearly 3,000 square kilometres of protected boreal forest and grassland perched atop the Manitoba Escarpment — and extends from the Saskatchewan border in the west to the Lake Manitoba shoreline in the east. Major communities include Dauphin, Swan River, Neepawa, Russell, Roblin, and Grandview. Incumbent Conservative Dan Mazier, first elected in 2019, won re-election with a commanding majority.

Candidates

Dan Mazier (Conservative) farms grains, oilseeds, and specialty crops near Justice, Manitoba, with his wife Leigh. He holds an agriculture diploma from the University of Manitoba and spent 17 years working in the fertilizer industry before becoming president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, Manitoba's largest general farm organization. Mazier stepped down from that role in 2018 to seek the federal Conservative nomination and has served as deputy shadow minister for environment and climate change, bringing what he describes as a rural lens to environmental policy.

Terry Hayward (Liberal) was born and raised in Brandon with roots in Pilot Mound and Holland, and maintains the family farm near Beausejour. He spent 33 years with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Canada's external affairs department, with postings in Edmonton, Quebec City, Washington, and Wellington, New Zealand. Hayward also works as a substitute teacher and serves as the Manitoba election readiness chair for the Liberal Party. This was his fifth run as a Liberal candidate in rural Manitoba.

Andrew Douglas Maxwell (NDP) ran as the NDP candidate in the riding.

Jim Oliver (People's Party) ran as the People's Party candidate in the riding.

Liz Clayton (Green Party) ran as the Green Party candidate in the riding.

About the Riding

Riding Mountain's economy is built on agriculture, with farms producing grains, oilseeds, canola, livestock, and honey across the rolling parkland and prairie that surround the national park. Dauphin, the riding's largest town with a population of roughly 8,500, serves as the regional service centre for the Parkland region and is home to the annual Dauphin's Countryfest music festival. Swan River anchors the northwestern corner as an agricultural and forestry hub, while Neepawa — known as the Lily Capital of the World — has seen significant population growth driven by immigration tied to its food processing industry, including a major HyLife pork processing plant.

Riding Mountain National Park is central to the riding's identity, drawing visitors for hiking, camping, and wildlife viewing in and around the resort village of Wasagaming on the shores of Clear Lake. The park and surrounding Crown lands support a tourism economy that complements the agricultural base.

The 2025 campaign in Riding Mountain revolved around U.S. trade tariffs and their impact on grain, oilseed, and livestock exports, the cost of living in rural communities, healthcare staffing in small-town hospitals and clinics, and environmental policy as it affects farming operations. The riding's heavy dependence on agricultural exports to the United States made the tariff uncertainty the overriding concern for many voters.