Fort Rouge (electoral district)

File:FortRougeED2011.jpg

The 2011+ boundaries of the riding of Fort Rouge highlighted in red.

Fort Rouge is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1957, and formally came into existence in the general election of 1958. The riding was eliminated in 1989, and re-established in 1999. It is located in the central section of the City of Winnipeg.

Fort Rouge is bordered on the east by St. Boniface, to the south by Fort Garry-Riverview, to the north by Logan, and to the west by River Heights. The actual Legislative Assembly of Manitoba building is located across the river from Fort Rouge.

The riding's population in 1996 was 20,364. In 1999, the average family income was $49,361, and the unemployment rate was 8.70%. 39.6% of Fort Rouge's residents are listed as low-income, the sixth-highest rate in the province. Almost 80% of occupied dwelling are rentals, and over 20% of households are single-parent families. Almost 25% of Fort Rouge's residents have a university degree—one of the highest rates in the province.

Fort Rouge has an immigrant population of 20%. Eight per cent of the riding's residents are aboriginal. The service sector accounts for 21% of Fort Rouge's industry, with a further 11% in social services.

The riding is now regarded as relatively safe for the Manitoba New Democratic Party (NDP), although this was not always the case. The seat was held by the Progressive Conservatives from 1958 to 1973, and was a rare bastion of Liberal strength in the province from 1973 to 1981. Lloyd Axworthy was the riding's representative from 1973 to 1979; for a time, he was the only Liberal in the legislature.

The current MLA is Jennifer Howard of the NDP.

List of provincial representatives

Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
Gurney Evans	PC	1958	1969
Inez Trueman	PC	1969	1973
Lloyd Axworthy	Lib	1973	1979
June Westbury	Lib	1979	1981
Roland Penner	NDP	1981	1988
Jim Carr	Lib	1988	1990
Tim Sale	NDP	1999	2007
Jennifer Howard	NDP	2007	present

Electoral results

Manitoba general election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jennifer Howard	4,501	50.95	+3.98
	Liberal	Paul Hesse	2,031	22.99	−7.54
	Progressive Conservative	Sonny Dominique	1,770	20.04	+5.29
	Green	Stephen Weedon	478	5.41	−0.86
Total valid votes			8,780
Rejected and declined votes			54
Turnout			8834	61.22%
Electors on the lists			14429

Manitoba general election, 2007
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jennifer Howard	3,828	46.97	−10.66	$25.968.04
	Liberal	Paul Hesse	2,488	30.53	+13.57	$23,866.84
	Progressive Conservative	Christine Waddell	1,202	14.75	−4.97	$11,369.89
	Green	Gerald H. Enns	511	6.27	+1.34	$905.51
	Independent	Ron Nash	92	1.13	+1.13	$261.98
	Communist	Frank Komarniski	29	0.36	+.36
Total valid votes			8,150	100.00
Rejected and declined votes			53
Turnout			8,203	62.29	+7.64
Electors on the lists			13,169

Manitoba general election, 2003
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Tim Sale	4,118	57.63	+9.21	$16,724.33
	Progressive Conservative	Mike Francis	1,409	19.72	−10.51	$8,860.98
	Liberal	David Henteleff	1,212	16.96	−2.07	$4,299.83
	Green	Mikel Magnusson	355	4.93	+3.14	$48.24
	Libertarian	Jim Weidman	51	0.71	$0.00
Total valid votes			7,145	100.00
Rejected and declined votes			59
Turnout			7,204	54.65	−15.94
Electors on the lists			13,182

Manitoba general election, 1999
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Tim Sale	4,759	48.42	$25,152.00
	Progressive Conservative	Ron Paley	2,971	30.23	$26,322.65
	Liberal	John Shanski	1,870	19.03	$24,461.96
	Green	Alex Reid	176	1.79	$256.65
Total valid votes			9,776	99.47
Rejected and declined votes			52
Turnout			9,828	70.59
Electors on the lists			13,923

Previous boundaries

File:FortRouge98.png

The 1999-2011 boundaries of the riding of Fort Rouge highlighted in red.