This just in: 2023 Manitoba election

Live updates as results roll in during Manitoba’s 43rd general election.

Bereza to keep PC streak in Portage alive

9:55 PM

Jeff Bereza of the Progressive Conservatives is projected to prevail in the Portage la Prairie riding.

He had earned nearly 2,100 votes with 20 of 28 polls reporting.

NDP candidate Acacia Weselake trailed by nearly 1,000 votes in a riding that has turned to a PC candidate for more than 40 years.

Smith in control of Point Douglas

9:51 PM

Bernadette Smith appears to have again locked up her inner-city riding of Point Douglas for the NDP.

With 15 of 24 of polls counted, Smith has a comfortable lead of 809 votes.

Smith was first elected in a 2017 byelection.

Ewasko out front in Lac du Bonnet

9:49 PM

Wayne Ewasko is on course to hold the Lac du Bonnet seat for the Tories.

Ewasko, first elected in the 2011 provincial election, was well in front of the NDP candidate Kathy Majowski.

Ewasko, who served as Heather Stefanson’s education minister, has a 843-vote lead with 12 of 35 polls reporting.

Leader of Manitoba Liberals steps down after losing St. Boniface seat

9:47 PM

The Manitoba Liberal Party is without a leader after Dougald Lamont announced he would be stepping down Tuesday after losing his seat in St. Boniface.

Before starting a teary-eyed speech at the party’s election night headquarters at the Norwood Hotel, Lamont introduced himself as “the former leader of the Manitoba Liberals.”

“Ultimately, the people have decided, and sometimes, you get caught in a wave – and it doesn’t seem to matter what you do,” Lamont told a crowd of more than 100 supporters inside the St. Boniface ballroom.

Lamont worked in public relations and journalism before entering politics. He was elected to the legislature in a 2018 by-election prompted by former NDP leader Greg Selinger’s mid-term resignation. 

The St. Boniface constituency has flip-flopped between the Liberals and NDP in recent history.

Union Station to stay in NDP win column

9:45 PM

Uzoma Asagwara has again sewn up the riding of Union Station, which was renamed and redrawn for the 2019 race.

The NDP candidate who featured prominently in this year’s campaign, built an insurmountable lead from the moment the ballots were counted.

With five of 34 polls reporting, Asagwara has a 1,137 vote lead.

Wiebe cruises to Concordia win

9:44 PM

NDP incumbent Matt Wiebe cruised to victory in Concordia, defeating Tory candidate Alex Rogers and Liberal Trish Rawsthorne. Wiebe won for a fifth time in this riding which has, since its 1979 beginning, always been an NDP seat.

Wiebe has been the party’s official opposition whip in the legislature, as well as its justice and MPI critic.

Grits lose St. Boniface to NDP

9:43 PM

Liberal leader Dougald Lamont has conceded his St. Boniface seat, which was so critical to his bid to have the Grits secure official party status in the Manitoba legislature.

With 10 of 26 polls reporting, Lamont was 569 votes behind NDP candidate Robert Loiselle.

Lamont, first elected in the 2018 byelection, has struggled to have his Liberals secure the four seats needed for official party status. The Grits entered the race with three seats, and only Cindy Lamoureux’s riding of Tyndall Park appears to have stayed in the fold.

Jackson expected to take Spruce Woods

9:42 PM

The riding that surrounds Brandon will likely elect a Progressive Conservative candidate once again.

In the western riding of Spruce Woods, Grant Jackson has more than 2,700 votes with 16 of 35 polls reporting, almost 1,600 votes up on NDP candidate Melissa Ghidoni.

The riding elected Cliff Cullen of the PCs in the last three elections.

Cook in front in Roblin

9:39 PM

The retirement of longtime PC MLA Myrna Driedger doesn’t appear to be getting in the way of the Tories retaining Roblin.

Kathleen Cook is out to a comfortable lead in the south-west Winnipeg constituency that has long been a Tory stronghold.

With 12 of 17 of the polls counted, Cook had a 508-vote lead over the NDP and Liberal challengers.

Moyes wins Riel, defeats Squires

9:36 PM

The NDP’s Mike Moyes, a Glenlawn Collegiate teacher, knocked off Tory cabinet minister Rochelle Squires in the bellwether riding of Riel.

Squires first captured the seat in 2016 and then again in 2019, the latter in which she defeated Moyes by about 1,000 votes.

Sala in front in St. James

9:34 PM

Adrien Sala is on track for another win for the NDP in St. James.

Sala, first elected in 2019, has a more than 1,200 vote lead over Tory Tim Diack and Liberal Randell Cacayuran.

Guenter to win in Borderland

9:33 PM

The Borderland riding will remain true blue as PC candidate Josh Guenter is projected to win tonight.

The incumbent candidate is almost 1,800 votes ahead of NDP candidate Rick Derksen with 11 of 28 polls reporting.

The seat has been held by a PC candidate since 1977.

Byram on road to success in Agassiz

9:27 PM

Agassiz PC candidate Jodie Byram will head to the Manitoba legislature.

The rookie candidate has earned 1,910 votes with 13 of 35 polls reporting, nearly 1,000 more than NDP hopeful Danica Wiggins.

The rural riding has only elected PC candidates, including Eileen Clarke the last two elections. Clarke announced last year she was not running this time around.

Maloway takes Elmwood

9:26 PM

Jim Maloway’s reign in Elmwood continues. The longtime NDP MLA defeated a full slate of candidates – Conservative Joshua Okello, Liberal Donovan DeBattista, Green candidate Nicolas Geddert and Comunist Party of Canada’s German Lombana.

Maloway celebrated his 11th win in the constituency since first being elected in 1986.

He has served as the NDP’s critic for seniors and long-term care.

Piwniuk to win again in Turtle Mountain

9:18 PM

Turtle Mountain incumbent Doyle Piwniuk of the Progressive Conservatives will be victorious tonight in the Manitoba election.

The long-time MLA has earned nearly 1,600 votes with 18 of 55 polls reporting from the southwestern Manitoba riding, well ahead of Keystone Party candidate Kevin Friesen and NDP candidate Lorna Canada-Vanegas Mesa.

NDP take early lead in Tuxedo

9:17 PM

Tory leader Heather Stefanson is facing a surprising challenge from the NDP in her Tuxedo riding.

With four of 24 polls reporting, NDP candidate Larissa Ashdown has a 33-vote lead over the Manitoba premier.

Stefanson has held the seat since 2000.

Fontaine builds commanding lead in St. Johns

9:15 PM

Nahanni Fontaine is headed for an electoral hat-trick in St. Johns.

There was little doubt about the fate of the inner-city riding going into the campaign as it has long been an NDP stronghold.

With more than a third of the polls counted, Fontaine had built a lead of more than 800 votes.

Lindsey wins in Flin Flon

9:12 PM

Tom Lindsey won a three-peat for the NDP in this northern constituency. He has served as his party’s caucus chair and critic for natural resources and northern affairs. He defeated Tory candidate Charlotte Larocque. Flin Flon has voted for the NDP in every provincial election since 1969.

Goertzen cruising to victory in Steinbach

9:11 PM

Kelvin Goertzen will easily hang on to his seat in the Manitoba legislature.

The Progressive Conservative candidate in Steinbach has over 2,000 votes with five of 10 polls reporting. That’s four times more than Gord Meneer of the New Democrats.

The riding has only elected PC representatives since 1990.

Redhead takes Thompson

9:09 PM

Incumbent Eric Redhead has won the Thompson riding for the NDP. Redhead defeated Tory candidate Linda Markus and Liberal candidate Roy Jemison. The former Shamattawa First Nation chief and health-care aide served as his party’s Indigenous reconciliation and northern relations critic.

He first won the seat in a 2022 byelection.

Wab Kinew wins seat

9:01 PM

NDP Leader Wab Kinew has again sewn up his Fort Rouge riding.

Kinew was ahead early and built a lead of nearly 3,000 votes over Tory candidate Rejeanne Caron, who was frequently the face of attacks that he would be soft on crime.

Kinew was first elected in the riding in 2016.

Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew greets candidates and supporters at the St. Boniface campaign office on election day in Winnipeg, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski Moses wins St. Vital

8:59 PM

Jamie Moses has won St. Vital for the NDP for a second time. Moses, who previously worked at the Canadian Wheat Board and Investors Group, was the party’s economic development and training critic and successfully introduced a private member’s bill to recognize Aug. 1 as Emancipation Day in the province.Moses defeated Conservative candidate Saima Aziz and Liberal Peter Bastians.With the exception of 2016, St. Vital riding has voted NDP for the last 24 years.

NDP leading in Fort Garry

8:58 PM

Mark Wasyliw will be returning to his seat in the Manitoba legislature after holding Fort Garry for the New Democrats.

With more than half the polls counted, Wasyliw had nearly a thousand-vote lead over former mayoral candidate Rick Shone carrying the Tory banner and Shandi Strong of the Liberals.

Wasyliw’s win comes despite a series of negative ads from the Tories that targeted the lawyer for defending those charged with serious crimes.

Polls close in Manitoba election

8:01 PM

Polls have closed in Manitoba and the ballots are now being counted in an election dominated by promises about health care, tax cuts and no shortage of negative ads.

Data from polls and surveys in recent days strongly suggest the governing Tories under Premier Heather Stefanson face long odds to win a third straight mandate. Those same polls hint that history could be made later tonight, as an NDP victory would make Wab Kinew the country’s first First Nations premier.

The campaign, which officially began on Sept. 5, is the first time Manitoba is using electronic vote-counting machines.

Watch winnipegfreepress.com for rolling updates from all 57 ridings, along with additional coverage and analysis.

A voting sign at a Wolseley polling station on election day. (Erik Pindera / Winnipeg Free Press)