Winnipeg Centre (provincial electoral district)

This article is about an historical electoral division in Manitoba. For the current federal riding, see Winnipeg Centre.

Winnipeg Centre was a provincial electoral division in Manitoba, Canada. It existed in three separate periods, each time using different electoral systems: 1888-1920 single-member and two-member district using First Past The Post; 1949 to 1953 four-member district using STV; 1959 to 1981 single-member district using First Past The Post.

It was initially created for the 1888 provincial election, and was abolished before the 1920 election when Winnipeg was made into a single ten-member constituency. It was then re-established for the elections of 1949 and 1953, as a four-member constituency. This constituency was eliminated in 1958 and divided into several single-member constituencies, one of which was also called Winnipeg Centre. This single-member constituency lasted until 1981, when it too was eliminated through redistribution.

Winnipeg Centre (original constituency, 1888-1920)

Winnipeg Centre was created for the 1888 election, when the city of Winnipeg was granted a third seat. It had previously been represented in the legislature by Winnipeg North and Winnipeg South.

Winnipeg Centre, a single-member constituency, was turned into a two-member dual-ballot district prior to the 1914 election. Electors were allowed to cast two ballots, one for each of the two separate seats, which were called "Winnipeg Centre A" and "Winnipeg Centre B".

The constituency only returned four representatives in its history, all of whom were prominent figures.

Daniel Hunter McMillan was a cabinet minister in Thomas Greenway's government, and later served as the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba from 1911 to 1916.

Thomas Taylor, his successor, had served as Mayor of Winnipeg in the 1890s.

Thomas Herman Johnson was a prominent minister under Tobias Norris.

Fred Dixon was also elected in Winnipeg Centre in 1914. He was notable as the first Labour representative in the legislature. In the elections of 1914 and 1915, he was co-endorsed by the Liberal Party and the Labour Representation Committee. In 1920, running in the new city-wide district he won as a DLP candidate.

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Winnipeg Centre

	Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
	Daniel Hunter McMillan	Liberal	1888	1900	Thomas Taylor	Conservative	1900	1914

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Winnipeg Centre "A"

	Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
	Thomas Herman Johnson	Liberal	1914	1922 (1920 district abolished)

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Winnipeg Centre "B"

	Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office	Fred Dixon	Independent	1914	1928 (1920 district abolished)

Winnipeg Centre (four-member constituency, 1949-1958)

The single Winnipeg constituency into three multiple-member districts for the 1949 election: Winnipeg North, Winnipeg Centre and Winnipeg South. All three constituencies elected four members to the legislature, with electors choosing representatives by a single transferable ballot.

The electorate of Winnipeg Centre included supporters of the socialist Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, the Liberal-Progressive and the Progressive Conservative Party. Independent candidate Stephen Juba also won election to the legislature in 1953.

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Winnipeg Centre (1949-1958)

	Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
	Charles Rhodes Smith	Liberal–Progressive	1949	1952
	Paul Bardal	Liberal–Progressive	1949	1953
	Jack St. John	Liberal–Progressive	1953	1958
	Donovan Swailes	CCF	1949	1958
	Gordon Fines	CCF	1949	1953
	Hank Scott	PC	1953	1958	Stephen Juba	Independent	1953	1958

Winnipeg Centre (single member constituency, 1958-1981)

The single-member electoral division of Winnipeg Centre was created with the 1958 election, after the four-member division of the same name was eliminated.

The constituency was represented by Progressive Conservative James Cowan from 1958 to 1969, and was considered safe for the PC Party. Joseph "Bud" Boyce of the New Democratic Party won it in 1969, and held it until its abolition in 1981. Boyce left the NDP to join the newly formed Progressive Party prior to the 1981 election.

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Winnipeg Centre (1958-1981)

	Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
	James Cowan	PC	1958	1969
	Bud Boyce	NDP	1969	1981
	Progressive	Bud Boyce	1981	1981