Ste. Rose (electoral district)

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Ste. Rose is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1914, and has existed continuously since that time.

Ste. Rose is located in the southwestern section of the province. It is bordered to the north by Swan River, to the west by Russell, Dauphin-Roblin and Minnedosa, to the south by Turtle Mountain and to the east by Lake Manitoba.

Communities in the riding include Gladstone, Neepawa, McCreary, Ste. Rose, Ste. Rose du Lac and Westbourne. Neepawa is known as the World Lily Capital.

The riding's population in 1996 was 19,038. As of 1999, the average family income was $36,883, and the unemployment rate was 7.60%. Much of the riding is farmland: agriculture accounts for 29% of its industry, followed by health and social services at 11%.

Twenty-six per cent of Ste. Rose's population is aboriginal, and 8% are German. There was once a significant francophone population in this region, and 4% of the riding's residents list themselves as francophone today. Over 25% of the population has less than a Grade Nine education, one of the highest rates in the province.

From the 1930s to the 1970s, Ste. Rose was a safe seat for the Manitoba Liberal Party (formerly known as the Liberal-Progressive Party). The New Democratic Party held the seat from 1971 to 1986, at which time it was won by Glen Cummings of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Cummings still holds the seat today. It is uncertain if the seat will remain in the Tory fold when he retires.

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