1986 Manitoba general election

1986 Manitoba general election

←  1981 March 18, 1986 1988  →
57 seats of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba 29 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Howard Pawley Gary Filmon Sharon Carstairs Party New Democratic Progressive Conservative Liberal Leader since November 4, 1979 December 10, 1983 March 4, 1984 Leader's seat Selkirk Tuxedo River Heights Last election 34 23 0 Seats won 30 26 1 Seat change 4 3 1 Popular vote 198,261 193,728 66,469 Percentage 41.50% 40.56% 13.92% Swing 5.88pp 3.26pp 7.22pp
Map of Election Results
Premier before election Howard Pawley New Democratic Premier after election Howard Pawley New Democratic

The 1986 Manitoba general election was held on March 18, 1986 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the New Democratic Party, which took 30 seats out of 57. The Progressive Conservative Party won 26 seats and formed the official opposition. The Manitoba Liberal Party, which had not been represented in the previous legislature, won one seat.

Opinion polls

Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level

Polling firm	Last day of survey	Source	NDP	PC	MLP	Other	ME	Sample
Election 1986	March 18, 1986		41.50	40.56	13.92	2.96
Institute of Social and Economic Research	February 1986	[1]	44.5	39.5	14.1	—	—	683
Institute of Social and Economic Research	April 1984	[2]	26.5	59.5	14	—	—	—
Election 1981	November 17, 1981		47.38	43.82	6.70	2.10

Results

Party		Party Leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular Vote
				Before1	Elected	% Change	#	%	Change
	New Democratic	Howard Pawley	57	32	30	-6.3%	198,261	41.50%	-5.88
	Progressive Conservative	Gary Filmon	57	22	26	+18.2%	193,728	40.56%	-3.26
	Liberal	Sharon Carstairs	57	-	1		66,469	13.92%	+7.22
	Confederation of Regions	Dennis Heeney	14	-	-	-	11,677	2.44%	+2.44
	Progressive	Sidney Green	12	-	-	-	2,451	0.51%	-1.30
	Western Canada Concept	Fred Cameron	5	-	-	-	672	0.14%	+0.14
	Communist	Paula Fletcher	5	-	-	-	356	0.08%	+0.03
	Independent		9	2	-	-100%	4,076	0.85%	+0.61
	Libertarian	Clancy Smith	(4)	-	-	-
Total			216	57	57	-	477,690	100%

¹ "Before" refers to standings in the Legislature at dissolution, and not to the results of the previous election. These numbers therefore reflect changes in party standings as a result of by-elections and members crossing the floor.

Vote and seat summaries

Ternary plots – shift of electoral support (1981–1986)

• 
  1981
• 
  1986

Electoral districts identified by colours of winning parties

Popular vote New Democratic   41.50% PC   40.56% Liberal   13.92% Others   4.02%

Seats summary New Democratic   52.63% PC   45.61% Liberal   1.75%

Synopsis of results

1986 Manitoba general election – synopsis of riding results ^{[3] [4]}

Electoral division	Winning party										Votes [a 1]
	1981		1st place		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %	2nd place		NDP	PC	Lib	CoR	Ind	Oth	Total
Arthur		PC		PC	4,569	61.11%	3,371	45.08%		CoR	1,009	4,569	701	1,198	–	–	7,477
Assiniboia		PC		PC	3,813	51.62%	1,618	21.90%		NDP	2,195	3,813	1,379	–	–	–	7,387
Brandon East		NDP		NDP	4,173	52.88%	989	12.53%		PC	4,173	3,184	535	–	–	–	7,892
Brandon West		NDP		PC	5,537	53.11%	1,409	13.52%		NDP	4,128	5,537	760	–	–	–	10,425
Burrows		NDP		NDP	3,547	53.04%	2,110	31.55%		Ind	3,547	950	587	–	1,473 [a 2]	131	6,688
Charleswood		PC		PC	6,524	56.43%	3,698	31.99%		NDP	2,826	6,524	2,211	–	–	–	11,561
Churchill		NDP		NDP	2,940	73.50%	2,083	52.08%		PC	2,940	857	203	–	–	–	4,000
Concordia		NDP		NDP	4,525	54.37%	1,841	22.12%		PC	4,525	2,684	909	–	–	204	8,322
Dauphin		NDP		NDP	4,886	52.27%	1,765	18.88%		PC	4,886	3,121	1,341	–	–	–	9,348
Ellice		NDP		NDP	3,989	57.67%	2,258	32.64%		PC	3,989	1,731	929	–	–	268	6,917
Elmwood		NDP		NDP	3,241	45.84%	1,235	17.47%		Ind	3,241	1,435	389	–	2,006 [a 3]	–	7,071
Emerson		PC		PC	4,758	51.75%	978	10.64%		NDP	3,780	4,758	656	–	–	–	9,194
Flin Flon		NDP		NDP	3,316	69.49%	2,244	47.02%		PC	3,316	1,072	384	–	–	–	4,772
Fort Garry		PC		PC	5,146	48.45%	1,988	18.72%		NDP	3,158	5,146	2,114	–	–	204	10,622
Fort Rouge		NDP		NDP	4,223	48.86%	1,633	18.89%		PC	4,223	2,590	1,683	–	101	46	8,643
Gimli		NDP		NDP	4,906	50.83%	951	9.85%		PC	4,906	3,955	649	–	–	141	9,651
Gladstone		PC		PC	3,402	49.25%	1,648	23.86%		CoR	872	3,402	879	1,754	–	–	6,907
Inkster		NDP		NDP	5,480	64.09%	3,754	43.91%		PC	5,480	1,726	938	–	101	305	8,550
Interlake		NDP		NDP	4,634	61.30%	2,453	32.45%		PC	4,634	2,181	455	289	–	–	7,559
Kildonan		NDP		NDP	6,199	51.65%	1,989	16.57%		PC	6,199	4,210	1,134	–	–	459	12,002
Kirkfield Park		PC		PC	5,497	57.14%	3,306	34.37%		NDP	2,191	5,497	1,932	–	–	–	9,620
La Vérendrye		PC		PC	3,618	59.12%	1,850	30.23%		NDP	1,768	3,618	734	–	–	–	6,120
Lac du Bonnet		NDP		NDP	3,903	46.12%	302	3.57%		PC	3,903	3,601	959	–	–	–	8,463
Lakeside		PC		PC	4,303	49.38%	1,903	21.84%		NDP	2,400	4,303	959	1,052	–	–	8,714
Logan		NDP		NDP	3,765	73.08%	2,974	57.73%		PC	3,765	791	502	–	94	–	5,152
Minnedosa		PC		PC	3,316	41.77%	947	11.93%		NDP	2,369	3,316	745	1,508	–	–	7,938
Morris		PC		PC	4,378	68.78%	3,238	50.87%		NDP	1,140	4,378	847	–	–	–	6,365
Niakwa		PC		PC	6,437	47.44%	1,606	11.84%		NDP	4,831	6,437	2,300	–	–	–	13,568
Osborne		NDP		NDP	4,747	55.38%	2,399	27.99%		PC	4,747	2,348	1,259	–	–	217	8,571
Pembina		PC		PC	5,270	65.19%	4,326	53.51%		CoR	913	5,270	849	944	–	108	8,084
Portage la Prairie		PC		PC	3,693	51.35%	2,236	31.09%		NDP	1,457	3,693	968	1,074	–	–	7,192
Radisson		NDP		NDP	4,810	53.71%	2,144	23.94%		PC	4,810	2,666	1,239	–	–	240	8,955
Rhineland		PC		PC	3,037	51.34%	1,488	25.16%		NDP	1,549	3,037	1,329	–	–	–	5,915
Riel		NDP		PC	4,479	47.10%	769	8.09%		NDP	3,710	4,479	1,133	187	–	–	9,509
River East		NDP		PC	6,598	48.88%	750	5.56%		NDP	5,848	6,598	696	280	–	76	13,498
River Heights		PC		Liberal	4,620	44.98%	1,485	14.46%		PC	2,516	3,135	4,620	–	–	–	10,271
Roblin-Russell		PC		PC	3,241	38.09%	38	0.45%		NDP	3,203	3,241	2,065	–	–	–	8,509
Rossmere		NDP		NDP	4,613	47.04%	527	5.37%		PC	4,613	4,086	1,108	–	–	–	9,807
Rupertsland		NDP		NDP	2,302	60.42%	1,371	35.98%		PC	2,302	931	577	–	–	–	3,810
Selkirk		NDP		NDP	5,135	54.93%	2,016	21.56%		PC	5,135	3,119	1,023	–	–	72	9,349
Seven Oaks		NDP		NDP	5,158	64.71%	3,317	41.61%		PC	5,158	1,841	907	–	–	65	7,971
Springfield		NDP		PC	5,094	44.26%	55	0.48%		NDP	5,039	5,094	1,376	–	–	–	11,509
St. Boniface		NDP		NDP	4,978	60.77%	3,027	36.95%		Lib	4,978	1,114	1,951	–	–	149	8,192
St. James		NDP		NDP	4,120	44.22%	155	1.66%		PC	4,120	3,965	922	175	–	136	9,318
St. Johns		NDP		NDP	3,753	56.39%	1,804	27.10%		PC	3,753	1,949	632	–	115	207	6,656
St. Norbert |		PC		PC	5,788	50.72%	2,949	25.84%		NDP	2,839	5,788	2,784	–	–	–	11,411
St. Vital		NDP		NDP	4,430	45.32%	558	5.71%		PC	4,430	3,872	1,472	–	–	–	9,774
Ste. Rose		NDP		PC	3,735	45.77%	715	8.76%		NDP	3,020	3,735	952	454	–	–	8,161
Sturgeon Creek		PC		PC	4,994	55.17%	2,592	28.63%		NDP	2,402	4,994	1,530	–	126	–	9,052
Swan River		PC		NDP	3,773	47.88%	65	0.82%		PC	3,773	3,708	399	–	–	–	7,880
The Pas		NDP		NDP	4,051	68.34%	2,963	49.98%		PC	4,051	1,088	789	–	–	–	5,928
Thompson		NDP		NDP	3,852	66.61%	2,354	40.71%		PC	3,852	1,498	433	–	–	–	5,783
Transcona		NDP		NDP	4,631	59.39%	2,665	34.18%		PC	4,631	1,966	1,200	–	–	–	7,797
Turtle Mountain		PC		PC	3,390	47.51%	2,037	28.55%		NDP	1,353	3,390	1,242	1,150	–	–	7,135
Tuxedo |		PC		PC	5,268	49.09%	1,724	16.06%		Lib	1,816	5,268	3,544	–	–	104	10,732
Virden		PC		PC	4,251	52.99%	2,501	31.18%		NDP	1,750	4,251	524	1,497	–	–	8,022
Wolseley		NDP		NDP	4,099	51.42%	1,881	23.60%		PC	4,099	2,218	1,132	115	60	347	7,971

1. All parties with more than 1% of the vote are shown individually. Independent candidates and other minor parties are aggregated separately.
2. William Chornopyski, long-time city councillor in Winnipeg and active NDP supporter, left the NDP and stood as an Independent, winning 1,437 votes and finishing in second place.
3. Russell Doern, NDP Cabinet minister under Edward Schreyer and Howard Pawley, left the NDP in 1984.

  = open seat

  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature

  = incumbent had switched allegiance

  = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature

  = other incumbents renominated

  = Libertarian candidate - party not recognized by Elections Manitoba ^[5]

  = multiple candidates

Turnout, winning shares and swings

Summary of riding results by turnout, vote share for winning candidate, and swing (vs 1981) ^{[3] [4]}

Riding and winning party				Turnout				Vote share [a 1]				Swing [a 2]
				%	Change (pp)			%	Change (pp)			To	Change (pp)
Arthur		PC	Hold	67.11	1.84			61.11	-14.42			NDP	-1.72
Assiniboia		PC	Hold	64.04	-7.29			51.62	1.69			PC	3.57
Brandon East		NDP	Hold	67.02	-3.42			52.88	-8.28			PC	-8.06
Brandon West		PC	Gain	70.92	-7.84			53.11	7.90			PC	-8.88
Burrows		NDP	Hold	61.59	-6.03			53.04	-9.96			PC	-3.17
Charleswood		PC	Hold	69.52	-5.13			56.43	-2.34			PC	1.65
Churchill		NDP	Hold	61.05	-0.06			73.50	8.95			NDP	6.45
Concordia		NDP	Hold	66.22	-3.44			54.37	-6.54			PC	-4.63
Dauphin		NDP	Hold	78.70	-5.51			52.27	4.38			NDP	6.19
Ellice		NDP	Hold	66.37	-3.89			57.67	-2.76			PC	-1.67
Elmwood		NDP	Hold	64.33	-1.84			45.84	-21.99			PC	-8.54
Emerson		PC	Hold	72.99	-1.64			51.75	2.14			PC	3.30
Flin Flon		NDP	Hold	56.38	-9.32			69.49	6.90			NDP	10.92
Fort Garry		PC	Hold	66.23	-6.68			48.45	-7.27			NDP	-1.92
Fort Rouge		NDP	Hold	64.33	-7.50			48.86	4.30			NDP	1.75
Gimli		NDP	Hold	75.17	-2.57			50.83	-1.48			NDP	0.43
Gladstone		PC	Hold	62.62	-3.08			49.25	-15.82			NDP	-2.15
Inkster		NDP	Hold	60.25	-9.52			64.09	-5.79			PC	-4.31
Interlake		NDP	Hold	66.08	-1.81			61.30	-3.00			PC	-0.68
Kildonan		NDP	Hold	63.47	-13.20			51.65	-3.47			PC	-1.11
Kirkfield Park		PC	Hold	68.62	-7.39			57.14	-7.33			PC	2.71
La Vérendrye		PC	Hold	50.42	-7.84			59.12	-11.33			NDP	-10.95
Lac du Bonnet		NDP	Hold	73.94	3.61			46.12	-16.38			PC	-10.72
Lakeside		PC	Hold	71.05	-2.49			49.38	-10.91			NDP	-3.54
Logan		NDP	Hold	56.00	-5.72			73.08	1.08			N/A [a 3]
Minnedosa		PC	Hold	69.35	2.03			41.77	-13.27			PC	0.92
Morris		PC	Hold	59.73	-5.09			68.78	-2.76			PC	3.89
Niakwa		PC	Hold	71.57	-4.38			47.44	0.26			PC	2.90
Osborne		NDP	Hold	69.15	-6.71			55.38	-1.01			NDP	0.11
Pembina		PC	Hold	63.89	-3.27			65.19	-12.45			NDP	-6.61
Portage la Prairie		PC	Hold	65.03	-6.80			51.35	3.93			PC	7.64
Radisson		NDP	Hold	69.55	-6.62			53.71	-13.78			PC	-7.60
Rhineland		PC	Hold	50.50	-0.33			51.34	-21.56			NDP	-13.41
Riel		PC	Gain	74.24	-4.36			47.10	4.48			PC	-5.30
River East		PC	Gain	73.45	-3.92			48.88	0.84			PC	-2.97
River Heights		Lib	Gain	80.66	-3.11			44.98	21.57			NDP	-4.81
Roblin-Russell		PC	Hold	78.60	3.35			38.09	-17.01			NDP	-4.88
Rossmere		NDP	Hold	77.91	-4.23			47.04	-7.45			PC	-4.31
Rupertsland		NDP	Hold	41.96	-11.72			60.42	-9.06			Lib	-0.60
Selkirk		NDP	Hold	74.93	-0.10			54.93	-9.17			PC	-4.06
Seven Oaks		NDP	Hold	63.36	-8.74			64.71	-2.19			PC	-0.75
Springfield		PC	Gain	73.33	-3.03			44.26	-1.44			PC	-2.46
St. Boniface		NDP	Hold	69.73	-6.93			60.77	-2.61			Lib	-2.78
St. James		NDP	Hold	72.49	-4.98			44.22	-8.73			PC	-3.00
St. Johns		NDP	Hold	62.42	-4.76			56.39	-0.60			PC	-2.24
St. Norbert		PC	Hold	68.88	-5.01			50.72	-3.18			PC	3.97
St. Vital		NDP	Hold	73.81	-6.80			45.32	-7.48			PC	-3.23
Ste. Rose		PC	Gain	72.65	-0.48			45.77	-1.74			PC	-5.67
Sturgeon Creek		PC	Hold	67.45	-5.62			55.17	-3.02			PC	2.29
Swan River		NDP	Gain	80.18	2.70			47.88	0.55			NDP	-2.17
The Pas		NDP	Hold	68.18	-5.71			68.34	-1.70			NDP	0.74
Thompson		NDP	Hold	71.50	-9.14			66.61	17.17			NDP	19.74
Transcona		NDP	Hold	65.56	-6.43			59.39	-12.17			PC	-5.19
Turtle Mountain		PC	Hold	69.23	6.27			47.51	-24.85			NDP	-9.33
Tuxedo		PC	Hold	71.84	-2.29			49.09	-15.50			NDP	-4.54
Virden		PC	Hold	67.85	-1.12			52.99	-10.90			PC	1.70
Wolseley		NDP	Hold	65.95	-12.01			51.42	3.07			NDP	3.69

1. Share won by winning candidate, with difference noted from share achieved by the same party in 1981.
2. Positive indicates improvement to standing of party winning in 1981; negative points to 1981's second-place party being swung to.
3. Stephen Juba, previously an MLA before moving to municipal politics and becoming Mayor of Winnipeg, had campaigned as an Independent in 1981, finishing second. He decided not to campaign again in 1986.

Changes in party shares

Share change analysis by party and riding (1986 vs 1981) ^{[3] [4]}

Riding	Liberal				NDP				PC
	%	Change (pp)			%	Change (pp)			%	Change (pp)
Arthur	9.38	9.38			13.49	-10.98			61.11	-14.42
Assiniboia	18.67	8.48			29.71	-5.46			51.62	1.69
Brandon East	6.78	0.44			52.88	-8.28			40.34	7.84
Brandon West	7.29	1.95			39.60	-9.86			53.11	7.90
Burrows	8.78	0.83			53.04	-9.96			14.20	-3.62
Charleswood	19.12	10.13			24.44	-5.65			56.43	-2.34
Churchill	5.08	-2.57			73.50	8.95			21.43	-3.94
Concordia	10.92	7.39			54.37	-6.54			32.25	2.71
Dauphin	14.35	3.61			52.27	4.38			33.39	-7.99
Ellice	13.43	2.27			57.67	-2.76			25.03	0.59
Elmwood	5.50	0.92			45.84	-21.99			20.29	-4.91
Emerson	7.14	3.64			41.11	-4.46			51.75	2.14
Flin Flon	8.05	8.05			69.49	6.90			22.46	-14.95
Fort Garry	19.90	10.58			29.73	-3.42			48.45	-7.27
Fort Rouge	19.47	-5.31			48.86	4.30			29.97	0.79
Gimli	6.72	3.73			50.83	-1.48			40.98	-2.34
Gladstone	12.73	1.94			12.62	-11.52			49.25	-15.82
Inkster	10.97	6.92			64.09	-5.79			20.19	2.83
Interlake	6.02	0.82			61.30	-3.00			28.85	-1.64
Kildonan	9.45	3.32			51.65	-3.47			35.08	-1.25
Kirkfield Park	20.08	20.08			22.78	-12.76			57.14	-7.33
La Vérendrye	11.99	11.99			28.89	10.57			59.12	-11.33
Lac du Bonnet	11.33	11.33			46.12	-16.38			42.55	5.05
Lakeside	11.01	3.94			27.54	-3.83			49.38	-10.91
Logan	9.74	9.74			73.08	1.08			15.35	2.73
Minnedosa	9.39	9.39			29.84	-15.11			41.77	-13.27
Morris	13.31	13.31			17.91	-10.54			68.78	-2.76
Niakwa	16.95	5.27			35.61	-5.53			47.44	0.26
Osborne	14.69	1.44			55.38	-1.01			27.39	-1.23
Pembina	10.50	2.01			11.29	0.77			65.19	-12.45
Portage la Prairie	13.46	-7.51			20.26	-11.35			51.35	3.93
Radisson	13.84	13.84			53.71	-13.78			29.77	1.42
Rhineland	22.47	22.47			26.19	5.27			51.34	-21.56
Riel	11.92	0.67			39.02	-6.11			47.10	4.48
River East	5.16	3.05			43.32	-5.09			48.88	0.84
River Heights	44.98	21.57			24.50	-5.32			30.52	-14.94
Roblin-Russell	24.27	24.27			37.64	-7.25			38.09	-17.01
Rossmere	11.30	7.63			47.04	-7.45			41.66	1.16
Rupertsland	15.14	-7.86			60.42	-9.06			24.44	18.20
Selkirk	10.94	10.94			54.93	-9.17			33.36	-1.05
Seven Oaks	11.38	6.07			64.71	-2.19			23.10	-0.69
Springfield	11.96	8.86			43.78	-6.36			44.26	-1.44
St. Boniface	23.82	2.94			60.77	-2.61			13.60	-1.00
St. James	9.89	9.89			44.22	-8.73			42.55	-2.73
St. Johns	9.50	-0.10			56.39	-0.60			29.28	3.88
St. Norbert	24.40	16.33			24.88	-11.12			50.72	-3.18
St. Vital	15.06	8.50			45.32	-7.48			39.62	-1.02
Ste. Rose	11.67	11.67			37.01	-13.08			45.77	-1.74
Sturgeon Creek	16.90	9.22			26.54	-7.60			55.17	-3.02
Swan River	5.06	5.06			47.88	0.55			47.06	-3.80
The Pas	13.31	4.89			68.34	-1.70			18.35	-3.19
Thompson	7.49	5.13			66.61	17.17			25.90	-22.30
Transcona	15.39	15.39			59.39	-12.17			25.21	-1.79
Turtle Mountain	17.41	17.41			18.96	-6.19			47.51	-24.85
Tuxedo	33.02	20.96			16.92	-6.43			49.09	-15.50
Virden	6.53	6.53			21.82	-14.29			52.99	-10.90
Wolseley	14.20	-2.83			51.42	3.07			27.83	-4.31

  = did not field a candidate in 1981

Post-election changes

Early in 1988, Laurent Desjardins (St. Boniface) announced his retirement from the legislature. Soon after this, NDP backbencher Jim Walding (St. Vital) voted against his party's budget, causing the government to fall.

See also

• List of Manitoba political parties
• Manitoba Liberal Party candidates, 1986 Manitoba provincial election

References

1. Tenszen, Michael (February 19, 1986). "Liberals in Manitoba buoyed by prediction of a party comeback". The Globe and Mail. p. A3.
2. Tenszen, Michael (July 6, 1985). "Manitoba voter polls spark speculation". The Globe and Mail. p. A4.
3. "Thirty-Second General Election held November 17, 1981 - Summary of Results" (PDF). Elections Manitoba . Retrieved September 23, 2025.
4. "Thirty-Third General Election held March 18, 1986 - Summary of Results" (PDF). Elections Manitoba . Retrieved September 23, 2025.
5. "Events in Manitoba History: Manitoba Provincial Election (1986)". Manitoba Historical Society . Retrieved September 23, 2025.

Further reading

• Byers, R. B., ed. (1990). Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, 1986 . Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN   9781442671997.

Preceded by 1981 Manitoba election

List of Manitoba elections

Succeeded by 1988 Manitoba election