- Gimli (electoral district)
Gimli is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of
Manitoba . It was created by redistribution in 1899, and has existed continuously since that time.Gimli is located to the immediate north of the City of Winnipeg. It is bordered to the north by Interlake, to the west by Interlake and Lakeside, and to the east by
Lake Winnipeg and Selkirk.Communities in the riding include Gimli, Winnipeg Beach, Petersfield, Clandeboye and Matlock.
The riding's population in 1996 was 19,700. As of 1999, the average family income was $58,790, and the unemployment rate was 7.90%. The service sector accounts for 15% of industry in the riding, with a further 11% each in manufacturing and the retail trade. There is also a significant fishing and tourism economy in the riding.
Gimli is home to the largest Icelandic community in the world outside of
Iceland , and many of its MLAs have been from this background. It also has significant Ukrainian and German communities, at 12% and 6% respectively.Gimli is a "
bellwether " riding, and has elected a candidate from a governing party in all but five elections since its establishment (the exceptions were 1907, 1920, 1922, 1936 and 1999). It is currently regarded as a Progressive Conservative/New Democratic Party marginal.The present
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Gimli isPeter Bjornson of the NDP.List of provincial representatives
Name Party Took Office Left Office Baldwin Baldwinson Cons 1899 1907 Sigtryggur Jonasson Lib 1907 1910 Baldwin Baldwinson Cons 1910 1913 Edmund Taylor Cons 1913 1914 Sveinn Thorvaldson Cons 1914 1915 Taras Dempster Ferley Lib 1915 1920 Gudmundur Fjelsted Farmer 1920 1922 Michael Rojeski Lib, later Independent 1922 1927 Ingimar Ingaldson Prog 1927 1932 Einar Jonasson Lib-Prog 1932 1935 Joseph Wawrykow ILP/CCF 1936 1945 Steinn Thompson Lib-Prog 1945 1958 George Johnson PC 1958 1969 John Gottfried NDP 1969 1977 Keith Cosens PC 1977 1981 John Bucklaschuk NDP 1981 1988 Ed Helwer PC 1988 2003 Peter Bjornson NDP 2003 "present"
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.