Fort Rouge (electoral district)

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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 north-central section of the City of Winnipeg.

Fort Rouge is bordered on the east by St. Boniface, to the south by Lord Roberts, to the north by Point Douglas, and to the west by Wolseley and River Heights. The actual Legislative Assembly of Manitoba building is located at the meeting point of Wolseley and Fort Rouge.

The riding's population in 1996 was 20,364. As of 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 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.

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