Fort Rouge (electoral district)

Fort Rouge

Manitoba electoral district
Location in Winnipeg
Provincial electoral district
Legislature	Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
MLA	Wab Kinew New Democratic
District created	1957
First contested	1958
Last contested	2023

Fort Rouge (French: Fort-Rouge) is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1957, and formally came into existence in the general election of 1958. The riding was eliminated in 1989, and re-established in 1999. It is located in the central section of the City of Winnipeg.

Fort Rouge is bordered on the east by St. Boniface, to the south by Fort Garry-Riverview, to the north by Logan, and to the west by River Heights. The actual Legislative Assembly of Manitoba building is located across the river from Fort Rouge.

The riding's population in 1996 was 20,364. In 1999, the average family income was $49,361, and the unemployment rate was 8.70%. 39.6% of Fort Rouge's residents are listed as low-income, the sixth-highest rate in the province. Almost 80% of occupied dwelling are rentals, and over 20% of households are single-parent families. Almost 25% of Fort Rouge's residents have a university degree—one of the highest rates in the province.

Fort Rouge has an immigrant population of 20%. Eight per cent of the riding's residents are aboriginal. The service sector accounts for 21% of Fort Rouge's industry, with a further 11% in social services.

The seat was held by the Progressive Conservatives from 1958 to 1973, and was a rare bastion of Liberal strength in the province from 1973 to 1981. Lloyd Axworthy was the riding's representative from 1973 to 1979; for a time, he was the only Liberal in the legislature. Roland Penner's election for the New Democratic Party in 1981, however, foretold of future NDP successes in the riding. Though Jim Carr would win the riding back for the Liberals in 1988, the seat would be broken into Crescentwood, Broadway and Osborne for the 1990 election. By the time the seat was reestablished in 1999, Crescentwood, Broadway and Osborne would all have NDP representatives, with Crescentwood MLA Tim Sale becoming the first MLA of the reestablished Fort Rouge. It has been continuously represented by the NDP since the riding was reestablished in 1999.

In the 2007, 2011 and 2016 provincial elections the Liberals were the main challengers to the NDP, though the party would continue to hold the seat with Jennifer Howard. In 2016, Liberal leader Rana Bokhari ran in Fort Rouge, losing to the NDP star candidate Wab Kinew. At the 2015 federal election, according to Elections Canada data, Fort Rouge voted heavily Liberal.^[1] In the 2019 and 2023 elections, the Progressive Conservatives finished second behind the NDP, with the Liberals falling behind Green candidate James Beddome in 2019.

The district is represented by NDP leader and Premier Wab Kinew.