Swan River (electoral district)

The 2011- boundaries for the Swan River highlighted in red

Swan River is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created in 1903, in what was then the northwestern corner of the province. Manitoba's borders expanded significantly in 1912, and Swan River is now located in the centre of the province, close to its western border with Saskatchewan. The division has seen several redistributions.

The riding is bordered to the north by The Pas, to the south by Dauphin-Roblin, to the east by Lake Winnipeg and to the west by the province of Saskatchewan. Lake Winnipegosis runs through the riding.

The community of Swan River is located in the riding's southwest corner. Other communities in the riding include Birch River, Ethelbert, Minitonas, Camperville and Winnipegosis.

The riding's population in 1996 was 19,639. In 1999, the average family income was $35,209, and the unemployment rate was 10.70%. Twenty-eight per cent of the riding's residents are listed as low income, and over 25% of the population has less than a Grade Nine education (the third-highest rate in the province).

Thirty-six per cent of the riding's residents are aboriginal, and 10% are Ukrainian. Agriculture accounts for 22% of Swan River's economy, followed by the health and service sector at 12%.

Swan River's political identity has undergone a significant change in recent years. It was represented by the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba continuously for all but one term from 1932 to 1988, and was generally regarded as safe for the party during this period. Since then, however, it has been dominated by the New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP). The current MLA is Ron Kostyshyn, who was elected in 2011.

List of provincial representatives

This riding has elected the following MLAs:

Parliament	Years	Member		Party
8th	1903–1907	rowspan="2" Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Conservative (historical) |	James Robson	Conservative
9th	1907–1910
10th	1910–1914	rowspan="1" Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal |	Daniel D. McDonald	Liberal
11th	1914–1915	rowspan="2" Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal |	William Sims	Liberal
12th	1915–1920
13th	1920–1922		Robert Emmond	Farmer
14th	1922–1927			Progressive
15th	1927–1932		Andrew McCleary	Progressive
16th	1932–1936	rowspan="6" Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives |	George Renouf	Progressive Conservative
17th	1936–1941
18th	1941–1945
19th	1945–1949
20th	1949–1953
21st	1953–1958
22nd	1958–1959	rowspan="2" Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives |	Albert Corbett	Progressive Conservative
23rd	1959–1962
24th	1962–1966	rowspan="4" Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives |	James Bilton	Progressive Conservative
25th	1966–1969
26th	1969–1973
27th	1973–1977
28th	1977–1981	rowspan="2" Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives |	Douglas Gourlay	Progressive Conservative
29th	1981–1986
30th	1986–1988	rowspan="1" Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP |	Len Harapiak	New Democratic Party
31st	1988–1990	rowspan="1" Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives |	Parker Burrell	Progressive Conservative
32nd	1990–1993	rowspan="5" Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP |	Rosann Wowchuk	New Democratic Party
33rd	1995–1999
34th	1999–2003
35th	2003–2007
36th	2007-2011
37th	2011–present	rowspan="5" Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP |	Ron Kostyshyn	New Democratic Party

Electoral results

Swan River 2003:

• (x)Rosann Wowchuk (NDP) 4701
• Jason Shaw (PC) 2223
• Russell McKay (L) 538

Previous boundaries

The 1998-2011 boundaries for the Swan River highlighted in red