2003 Manitoba general election

2003 Manitoba general election

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57 seats of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba 29 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	54.17% (13.94%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Gary Doer Stuart Murray Jon Gerrard Party New Democratic Progressive Conservative Liberal Leader since March 30, 1988 November 4, 2000 October 17, 1998 Leader's seat Concordia Kirkfield Park River Heights Last election 32 24 1 Seats won 35 20 2 Seat change 3 4 1 Popular vote 195,425 142,967 52,123 Percentage 49.47% 36.19% 13.19% Swing 4.96pp 4.65pp 0.21pp
Popular vote by riding. As this is an FPTP election, seat totals are not determined by popular vote, but instead via results by each riding. Click the map for more details.
Premier before election Gary Doer New Democratic Premier after election Gary Doer New Democratic

The 2003 Manitoba general election was held on June 3, 2003 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the New Democratic Party, which won 35 seats out of 57 (net gain of 3), securing another term for premier Gary Doer.

The Progressive Conservative Party finished second with twenty seats, a net loss of 4 from 1999. The Liberal Party won two seats, a net gain of one from the previous election.

An article in The Globe and Mail attributed the NDP's strong performance to premier Doer's tenure, where he was seen as having "delivered a reasonable economic performance and a steady stream of budget surpluses." ^[1]

Results

Summary of the June 3, 2003 Manitoba Legislature election results

Party		Party leader	Candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				1999	Dissol.	2003	+ / —	#	%	Change
	New Democratic	Gary Doer	57	32	31	35	+3	195,425	49.47%	+4.96%
	Progressive Conservative	Stuart Murray	57	24	23	20	−4	142,967	36.19%	−4.65%
	Liberal	Jon Gerrard	57	1	1	2	+1	52,123	13.19%	−0.21%
	Green	Markus Buchart	14	0	0	0	—	3,792	0.96%	+0.76%
	Communist	Darrell Rankin	5	0	0	0	—	334	0.08%	−0.01%
	Libertarian	Chris Buors	5	0	0	0	—	248	0.06%	-0.07%
	Independents and no affiliation		2	0	1	0	—	167	0.04%	−0.19%
	Vacant				2
Total			196	57	57	57	—	397,069	54.17%
Registered Voters								732,946

¹ One of the two independent candidates is a member of the federal Christian Heritage Party, while the other was formerly a candidate of the Libertarian Party.

Vote and seat summaries

Ternary plots – shift of electoral support (1999–2003)

• 
  1999
• 
  2003

Electoral districts identified by colours of winning parties

Popular vote

New Democratic			49.47%
PC			36.19%
Liberal			13.19%
Others			1.14%

Seats summary

New Democratic			61.40%
PC			35.08%
Liberal			3.50%

Synopsis of results

2003 Manitoba general election – synopsis of riding results ^{[2] [3]}

Electoral division	Winning party										Votes [a 1]
	1999		1st place		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %	2nd place		NDP	PC	Lib	Ind	Oth	Total
Arthur-Virden		PC		PC	4,135	53.81%	916	11.92%		NDP	3,219	4,135	331	–	–	7,685
Assiniboia		NDP		NDP	5,147	63.05%	2,890	35.40%		PC	5,147	2,257	657	–	102	8,163
Brandon East		NDP		NDP	3,870	62.04%	1,834	29.40%		PC	3,870	2,036	274	–	58	6,238
Brandon West		NDP		NDP	5,210	61.02%	2,228	26.10%		PC	5,210	2,982	346	–	–	8,538
Burrows		NDP		NDP	4,004	69.01%	2,752	47.43%		Lib	4,004	423	1,252	–	123	5,802
Carman		PC		PC	3,523	51.86%	1,698	25.00%		Lib	1,445	3,523	1,825	–	–	6,793
Charleswood		PC		PC	3,961	48.32%	1,161	14.16%		Lib	1,436	3,961	2,800	–	–	8,197
Concordia		NDP		NDP	4,450	76.67%	3,515	60.56%		PC	4,450	935	419	–	–	5,804
Dauphin-Roblin		NDP		NDP	4,602	54.27%	1,623	19.14%		PC	4,602	2,979	683	–	216	8,480
Elmwood		NDP		NDP	3,954	65.92%	2,725	45.43%		PC	3,954	1,229	748	–	67	5,998
Emerson		PC		PC	3,509	59.41%	2,249	38.08%		Lib	1,137	3,509	1,260	–	–	5,906
Flin Flon		NDP		NDP	2,402	73.21%	1,845	56.23%		Lib	2,402	322	557	–	–	3,281
Fort Garry		PC		NDP	3,852	46.75%	87	1.06%		PC	3,852	3,765	562	61	–	8,240
Fort Rouge		NDP		NDP	4,118	57.63%	2,709	37.91%		PC	4,118	1,409	1,212	–	406	7,145
Fort Whyte		PC		PC	4,960	52.71%	2,313	24.58%		NDP	2,647	4,960	1,803	–	–	9,410
Gimli		PC		NDP	5,500	56.56%	1,849	19.01%		PC	5,500	3,651	574	–	–	9,725
Inkster		NDP		Liberal	3,671	53.39%	820	11.93%		NDP	2,851	251	3,671	–	103	6,876
Interlake		NDP		NDP	3,858	63.76%	2,062	34.08%		PC	3,858	1,796	397	–	–	6,051
Kildonan		NDP		NDP	5,123	70.13%	4,023	55.07%		PC	5,123	1,100	942	–	140	7,305
Kirkfield Park		PC		PC	4,294	46.72%	1,439	15.66%		NDP	2,855	4,294	2,042	–	–	9,191
La Vérendrye		NDP		NDP	3,881	58.07%	1,571	23.51%		PC	3,881	2,310	492	–	–	6,683
Lac du Bonnet		PC		PC	4,380	51.26%	505	5.91%		NDP	3,875	4,380	290	–	–	8,545
Lakeside		PC		PC	4,110	52.96%	1,095	14.11%		NDP	3,015	4,110	636	–	–	7,761
Lord Roberts		NDP		NDP	4,352	61.99%	3,173	45.19%		PC	4,352	1,179	982	–	508	7,021
Minnedosa		PC		PC	3,259	47.37%	12	0.17%		NDP	3,247	3,259	268	106	–	6,880
Minto		NDP		NDP	3,586	69.47%	2,901	56.20%		Lib	3,586	626	685	–	265	5,162
Morris		PC		PC	3,996	57.16%	2,408	34.44%		NDP	1,588	3,996	1,407	–	–	6,991
Pembina		PC		PC	4,694	76.24%	3,817	61.99%		NDP	877	4,694	505	–	81	6,157
Point Douglas		NDP		NDP	2,877	74.86%	2,330	60.63%		Lib	2,877	337	547	–	82	3,843
Portage la Prairie		PC		PC	3,524	49.82%	501	7.08%		NDP	3,023	3,524	527	–	–	7,074
Radisson		NDP		NDP	3,888	52.45%	987	13.31%		PC	3,888	2,901	624	–	–	7,413
Riel		NDP		NDP	4,455	54.03%	1,336	16.20%		PC	4,455	3,119	671	–	–	8,245
River East		PC		PC	4,935	51.28%	533	5.54%		NDP	4,402	4,935	286	–	–	9,623
River Heights		Liberal		Liberal	4,500	48.70%	1,825	19.75%		PC	1,824	2,675	4,500	–	241	9,240
Rossmere		NDP		NDP	5,057	65.55%	2,761	35.79%		PC	5,057	2,296	362	–	–	7,715
Rupertsland		NDP		NDP	2,203	87.52%	2,041	81.09%		Lib	2,203	152	162	–	–	2,517
Russell		PC		PC	4,087	51.96%	879	11.17%		NDP	3,208	4,087	571	–	–	7,866
Seine River		PC		NDP	4,314	51.06%	732	8.66%		PC	4,314	3,582	553	–	–	8,449
Selkirk		NDP		NDP	4,580	62.69%	3,111	42.58%		Lib	4,580	1,257	1,469	–	–	7,306
Southdale		PC		PC	4,422	51.03%	1,299	14.99%		NDP	3,123	4,422	1,120	–	–	8,665
Springfield		PC		PC	4,917	60.62%	2,405	29.65%		NDP	2,512	4,917	682	–	–	8,111
St. Boniface		NDP		NDP	4,904	74.34%	3,952	59.91%		Lib	4,904	741	952	–	–	6,597
St. James		NDP		NDP	3,982	53.68%	1,509	20.34%		PC	3,982	2,473	963	–	–	7,418
St. Johns		NDP		NDP	4,224	72.40%	3,479	59.63%		Lib	4,224	612	745	–	253	5,834
St. Norbert		PC		NDP	3,355	48.68%	745	10.81%		PC	3,355	2,610	741	–	186	6,892
St. Vital		NDP		NDP	4,409	63.43%	2,753	39.61%		PC	4,409	1,656	707	–	179	6,951
Ste. Rose		PC		PC	3,709	56.64%	1,408	21.50%		NDP	2,301	3,709	538	–	–	6,548
Steinbach		PC		PC	4,284	74.63%	3,409	59.39%		NDP	875	4,284	455	–	126	5,740
Swan River		NDP		NDP	4,816	63.24%	2,564	33.67%		PC	4,816	2,252	547	–	–	7,615
The Maples		NDP		NDP	3,781	81.03%	2,896	62.07%		PC	3,781	885	–	–	–	4,666
The Pas		NDP		NDP	3,104	65.61%	2,268	47.94%		Lib	3,104	791	836	–	–	4,731
Thompson		NDP		NDP	3,291	82.73%	2,759	69.36%		PC	3,291	532	155	–	–	3,978
Transcona		NDP		NDP	4,414	69.48%	3,390	53.36%		Lib	4,414	915	1,024	–	–	6,353
Turtle Mountain		PC		PC	3,956	60.01%	2,063	31.30%		NDP	1,893	3,956	743	–	–	6,592
Tuxedo		PC		PC	4,213	52.81%	2,190	27.45%		NDP	2,023	4,213	1,741	–	–	7,977
Wellington		NDP		NDP	3,119	73.96%	2,479	58.79%		Lib	3,119	413	640	–	45	4,217
Wolseley		NDP		NDP	3,482	56.90%	2,289	37.40%		Grn	3,482	679	766	–	1,193	6,120

1. All parties with more than 1% of the vote are shown individually. Independent candidates and other minor parties are aggregated separately.

  = open seat

  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature

  = incumbent had switched allegiance

  = previously incumbent in another riding

  = incumbency arose from a byelection gain

  = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature

  = other incumbents renominated

  = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada

  = multiple candidates

Turnout, winning shares and swings

Summary of riding results by turnout, vote share for winning candidate, and swing (vs 1999) ^{[2] [3]}

Riding and winning party				Turnout				Vote share [a 1]				Swing [a 2]
				%	Change (pp)			%	Change (pp)			To	Change (pp)
Arthur-Virden		PC	Hold	60.40	-4.17			53.81	4.56			NDP	-0.77
Assiniboia		NDP	Hold	59.87	-12.49			63.05	18.82			NDP	17.69
Brandon East		NDP	Hold	52.66	-11.69			62.04	0.76			PC	-2.77
Brandon West		NDP	Hold	60.43	-12.7			61.02	11.76			NDP	11.28
Burrows		NDP	Hold	50.13	-15.51			69.01	2.67			NDP	2.45
Carman		PC	Hold	54.14	-6.33			51.86	2.61			PC	3.13
Charleswood		PC	Hold	60.25	-13.62			48.32	-6.4			Liberal	-8.59
Concordia		NDP	Hold	46.50	-17.8			76.67	6.59			NDP	6.92
Dauphin-Roblin		NDP	Hold	62.22	-10.39			54.27	-1.4			NDP	1.64
Elmwood		NDP	Hold	47.98	-16.26			65.92	3.06			NDP	7.43
Emerson		PC	Hold	48.54	-13.7			59.41	5.29			PC	5.9
Flin Flon		NDP	Hold	39.17	-12.43			73.21	8.3			NDP	13.92
Fort Garry		NDP	Gain	63.49	-11.6			46.75	3.13			NDP	-0.68
Fort Rouge		NDP	Hold	54.65	-15.23			57.63	8.95			NDP	9.81
Fort Whyte		PC	Hold	56.61	-19.81			52.71	-9.02			NDP	-5.17
Gimli		NDP	Gain	61.72	-16.22			56.56	12.68			NDP	-11.24
Inkster		Lib	Gain	61.36	-10.93			53.39	10.75			Liberal	-6.87
Interlake		NDP	Hold	49.90	-13.09			63.76	15.17			NDP	13.54
Kildonan		NDP	Hold	53.31	-17.54			70.13	7.47			NDP	9.26
Kirkfield Park		PC	Hold	61.44	-15.24			46.72	-6.51			NDP	-5.45
La Verendrye		NDP	Hold	52.54	-15.88			58.07	16.88			NDP	10.79
Lac du Bonnet		PC	Hold	60.52	-5.84			51.26	0.48			PC	2.17
Lakeside		PC	Hold	56.39	-11.6			52.96	4.21			NDP	-1.98
Lord Roberts		NDP	Hold	53.69	-15.33			61.99	8.68			NDP	9.56
Minnedosa		PC	Hold	56.15	-6.73			47.37	-2.34			NDP	-5.91
Minto		NDP	Hold	47.25	-16.84			69.47	5.55			NDP	11.06
Morris		PC	Hold	52.56	-14.56			57.16	3.78			PC	4.27
Pembina		PC	Hold	43.10	-9.45			76.24	7.23			PC	4.53
Point Douglas		NDP	Hold	40.24	-18.84			74.86	21.52			NDP	14.32
Portage la Prairie		PC	Hold	57.05	-2.72			49.82	3.3			NDP	-1.19
Radisson		NDP	Hold	54.05	-17.04			52.45	-2.57			PC	-4.37
Riel		NDP	Hold	61.15	-15.19			54.03	7.12			NDP	6.77
River East		PC	Hold	68.01	-9.29			51.28	1.03			NDP	-0.71
River Heights		Lib	Hold	67.43	-16.24			48.70	3.7			Liberal	7.85
Rossmere		NDP	Hold	58.22	-21.25			65.55	16.34			NDP	16.47
Rupertsland		NDP	Hold	28.12	-10.61			87.52	28.37			NDP	21.4
Russell		PC	Hold	63.35	-1.86			51.96	-1.67			PC	1.96
Seine River		NDP	Gain	59.35	-14.78			51.06	15.6			NDP	-10.58
Selkirk		NDP	Hold	54.50	-18.88			62.69	8.34			NDP	12.52
Southdale		PC	Hold	55.96	-18.57			51.03	-0.29			NDP	-4.48
Springfield		PC	Hold	55.79	-21.32			60.62	10.94			PC	10.27
St. Boniface		NDP	Hold	52.19	-22.35			74.34	17.76			NDP	17.24
St. James		NDP	Hold	55.51	-16.53			53.68	8.64			NDP	6.97
St. Johns		NDP	Hold	47.72	-17.38			72.40	0.4			NDP	5.16
St. Norbert		NDP	Gain	58.16	-14.51			48.68	9.76			NDP	-9.15
St. Vital		NDP	Hold	52.16	-21.87			63.43	12.29			NDP	12.36
Ste. Rose		PC	Hold	52.72	-9.23			56.64	6.73			PC	7.02
Steinbach		PC	Hold	41.99	-15.52			74.63	-3.49			NDP	-3.14
Swan River		NDP	Hold	60.17	-10.79			63.24	8.28			NDP	8.76
The Maples		NDP	Hold	49.11	-20.46			81.03	26.55			NDP	18.33
The Pas		NDP	Hold	40.46	-11.26			65.61	18.76			NDP	22.74
Thompson		NDP	Hold	37.54	-16.86			82.73	11.74			NDP	11.4
Transcona		NDP	Hold	48.54	-19.44			69.48	5.6			NDP	9.29
Turtle Mountain		PC	Hold	54.86	-3.96			60.01	3.83			PC	0.79
Tuxedo		PC	Hold	56.31	-15.52			52.81	-7.91			NDP	-4.73
Wellington		NDP	Hold	44.47	-14.39			73.96	4.68			NDP	5.34
Wolseley		NDP	Hold	53.14	-13.52			56.90	-13.95			PC	-1.22

1. Share won by winning candidate, with difference noted from share achieved by the same party in 1986.
2. Positive indicates improvement to standing of party winning in 1986; negative points to 1986's second-place party being swung to.

Changes in party shares

Share change analysis by party and riding (2003 vs 1999) ^{[2] [3]}

Riding	Liberal				NDP				PC
	%	Change (pp)			%	Change (pp)			%	Change (pp)
Arthur-Virden	4.31	-10.66			41.89	6.1			53.81	4.56
Assiniboia	8.05	-3.51			63.05	18.82			27.65	-16.56
Brandon East	4.39	-1.34			62.04	0.76			32.64	6.3
Brandon West	4.05	-0.04			61.02	11.76			34.93	-10.79
Burrows	21.58	-2.23			69.01	2.67			7.29	-2.03
Carman	26.87	-3.65			21.27	1.04			51.86	2.61
Charleswood	34.16	10.78			17.52	-4.38			48.32	-6.4
Concordia	7.22	1.75			76.67	6.59			16.11	-7.26
Dauphin-Roblin	8.05	8.05			54.27	-1.4			35.13	-4.67
Elmwood	12.47	12.47			65.92	3.06			20.49	-11.8
Emerson	21.33	-6.5			19.25	1.2			59.41	5.29
Flin Flon	16.98	16.98			73.21	8.3			9.81	-19.53
Fort Garry	6.82	-4.5			46.75	3.13			45.69	1.78
Fort Rouge	16.96	-2.17			57.63	8.95			19.72	-10.67
Fort Whyte	19.16	7.71			28.13	1.31			52.71	-9.02
Gimli	5.90	-2.89			56.56	12.68			37.54	-9.8
Inkster	53.39	10.75			41.46	-2.99			3.65	-9.26
Interlake	6.56	-3.26			63.76	15.17			29.68	-11.91
Kildonan	12.90	1.67			70.13	7.47			15.06	-11.05
Kirkfield Park	22.22	2.12			31.06	4.39			46.72	-6.51
La Verendrye	7.36	-9.72			58.07	16.88			34.57	-4.7
Lac du Bonnet	3.39	3.39			45.35	-3.87			51.26	0.48
Lakeside	8.19	-9.93			38.85	8.17			52.96	4.21
Lord Roberts	13.99	-4.08			61.99	8.68			16.79	-10.45
Minnedosa	3.90	-3.78			47.19	9.48			47.37	-2.34
Minto	13.27	6.9			69.47	5.55			12.13	-16.56
Morris	20.13	-4.76			22.71	2.2			57.16	3.78
Pembina	8.20	-6.71			14.24	-1.83			76.24	7.23
Point Douglas	14.23	-7.12			74.86	21.52			8.77	-10.79
Portage la Prairie	7.45	-7.49			42.73	5.68			49.82	3.3
Radisson	8.42	-3.61			52.45	-2.57			39.13	6.17
Riel	8.14	0.18			54.03	7.12			37.83	-6.42
River East	2.97	-3.47			45.74	2.44			51.28	1.03
River Heights	48.70	3.7			19.74	6.76			28.95	-12
Rossmere	4.69	0.87			65.55	16.34			29.76	-16.61
Rupertsland	6.44	-14.43			87.52	28.37			6.04	-13.94
Russell	7.26	7.26			40.78	-5.59			51.96	-1.67
Seine River	6.55	-8.74			51.06	15.6			42.40	-5.55
Selkirk	20.11	8.36			62.69	8.34			17.21	-16.69
Southdale	12.93	-6.49			36.04	8.67			51.03	-0.29
Springfield	8.41	0.7			30.97	-9.61			60.62	10.94
St. Boniface	14.43	-16.71			74.34	17.76			11.23	-1.05
St. James	12.98	-3.34			53.68	8.64			33.34	-5.29
St. Johns	12.77	5.19			72.40	0.4			10.49	-9.93
St. Norbert	10.75	-3.92			48.68	9.76			37.87	-8.54
St. Vital	10.17	-0.6			63.43	12.29			23.82	-12.43
Ste. Rose	8.22	0.6			35.14	-7.32			56.64	6.73
Steinbach	7.93	-1.49			15.24	2.79			74.63	-3.49
Swan River	7.18	7.18			63.24	8.28			29.57	-9.24
The Maples	0.00	-15.52			81.03	26.55			18.97	-10.11
The Pas	17.67	7.96			65.61	18.76			16.72	-26.72
Thompson	3.90	-0.67			82.73	11.74			13.37	-11.07
Transcona	16.12	8.01			69.48	5.6			14.40	-12.98
Turtle Mountain	11.27	-6.08			28.72	2.25			60.01	3.83
Tuxedo	21.83	7.63			25.36	1.56			52.81	-7.91
Wellington	15.18	2.39			73.96	4.68			9.79	-6
Wolseley	12.52	12.52			56.90	-13.95			11.09	-11.5

Post-election changes

• MaryAnn Mihychuk (Minto) resigned her seat on May 21, 2004 to campaign for Mayor of Winnipeg. A by-election was held on June 22, 2004 to determine her successor.

v t e Manitoba provincial by-election, June 22, 2004: Minto Resignation of MaryAnn Mihychuk
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Andrew Swan	2,848	54.69	$14,208.77
	Liberal	Wayne Helgason	1,616	31.03	$9,826.24
	Progressive Conservative	David Laurence	631	12.12	$41.20
	Communist	Cheryl-Anne Carr	113	2.17	$0.00
Total valid votes			5,208	99.17
Rejected ballots			43	0.83
Turnout			5,251	47.18
Registered voters			11,129

• Merv Tweed (Turtle Mountain) resigned his seat to campaign for the House of Commons of Canada. A by-election was held on July 2, 2004 to determine his successor.

v t e Manitoba provincial by-election, July 2, 2004: Turtle Mountain Resignation of Merv Tweed
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Cliff Cullen	3,632	63.01	3.00	$11,273.31
	Liberal	Bev Leadbeater	1,084	18.81	7.54	$2,256.63
	New Democratic	Betty Storie	1,048	18.18	-10.53	$12,037.72
Total valid votes			5,764	–	–
Rejected			12	–
Eligible voters / turnout			12,267	47.10	–
Source(s) Source:

• John Loewen (Fort Whyte) resigned his seat on September 26, 2005 to campaign for the House of Commons of Canada. A by-election was held on December 16, 2005, to determine his successor.

v t e Manitoba provincial by-election, December 16, 2005: Fort Whyte Resignation of John Loewen
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Hugh McFadyen	3,542	52.26	−0.45	$27,219.00
	New Democratic	Christina McDonald	1,650	24.34	−3.79	$18,333.89
	Liberal	Jean Paterson	1,466	21.63	+2.47	$6,134.47
	Green	Shelagh Pizey-Allen	120	1.77	–	$233.71
Total valid votes			6,778	99.91
Rejected ballots			6	0.09	-0.17
Turnout			6,784	38.07	−18.54
Registered voters			17,820
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		+1.67

See also

• Independent candidates, 2003 Manitoba provincial election

References

1. "Opinion: Gary Doer's way". The Globe and Mail. June 5, 2003. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
2. "Results of 37th General Election, September 21, 1999". Elections Manitoba . Retrieved September 25, 2025.
3. "Results of 38th General Election, June 3, 2003". Elections Manitoba . Retrieved September 29, 2025.

Further reading

• Mutimer, David, ed. (2009). Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, 2003 . Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN   9780802099853.

External links

• CBC: Manitoba votes 2003
• Election Almanac – Manitoba Provincial Election [permanent dead link]
• Elections Manitoba
• Manitoba legislature
• Manitoba Government