La Verendrye (electoral district)

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La Verendrye is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1879, and has existed since that time.

La Verendrye is located southeastern region of Manitoba. It is bordered to the south by Emerson and Steinbach, to the west by Morris and the City of Winnipeg, to the north by Springfield and Lac Du Bonnet, and to the east by the province of Ontario.

Communities in the riding include Ste. Anne, Iles des Chenes, Lorette, St-Genevieve, Landmark and Hadashville. The Whiteshell Provincial Park is also in the riding.

The riding's population in 1996 was 19,558. As of 1999, the average family income was $49,308, and the unemployment rate was 5.90%. Manufacturing accounts for 12% of the riding's industry, followed by the service sector at 11%.

La Verendrye has the second-highest francophone population in Manitoba (after St. Boniface), at 23% of the total population. Nine per cent of the riding's residents are German, and 7% are aboriginal.

La Verendrye was a hotly-contested riding between the Liberals and Conservatives in its earliest years. After 1922, it became dominated by the Progressives, who later became the Liberal-Progressives before metamorphosising again into the Manitoba Liberal Party. With the decline of the provincial Liberal Party in the 1970s, the riding became relatively safe for the Progressive Conservative party.

In the 1999 election, Ron Lemieux became the first New Democrat to be elected for the constituency. He was re-elected in the 2003 election with almost 60% of the popular vote. It is too early to tell if the seat has become safe for the NDP.

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