Brandon West

For the Canadian football player, see Brandon West (Canadian football).

File:BrandonWest2011.jpg

The 2011 boundaries of Brandon West highlighted in red.

Brandon West is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

Historical riding

The original riding of Brandon West existed from 1886 to 1888, after the City of Brandon was divided into two electoral divisions. It was eliminated in 1888, when the city became a single division again.

List of provincial representatives

Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
John Kirchhoffer	Cons	1886	1888

Current riding

The modern riding of Brandon West was created in 1968, when the City of Brandon was again divided into two electoral districts. It was formally brought into being in the provincial election of 1969.

The riding is surrounded by Brandon East to the east and by Minnedosa in all other directions. The City of Brandon itself is located in the southwestern region of the province.

The riding's population in 1996 was 19,808. In 1999, the average family income was $56,860, and the unemployment rate was 6.30%. The service sector accounts for 16% of industry in the riding, followed by health and social services at 15%.

Brandon West includes the more economically advantaged section of Brandon, and usually elected Progressive Conservative members from 1969 to 1999. It was sometimes said that Brandon West voters elected Tories and Brandon East voters elected New Democrats to ensure that the city would have a member on the government side regardless of the provincial outcome.

Scott Smith of the New Democratic Party won the seat in 1999, and retained it with over 60% of the vote in 2003. However, he lost the seat to Progressive Conservative candidate Rick Borotsik by just 56 votes.

List of provincial representatives

Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
Edward McGill	PC	1969	1981
Henry Carroll	NDP	1981	1982
	Independent	1982	1986
James McCrae	PC	1986	1999
Scott Smith	NDP	1999	2007
Rick Borotsik	PC	2007	2011
Reg Helwer	PC	2011	present

Electoral results

Manitoba general election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Reg Helwer	4,219	48.66	+0.62
	New Democratic	Jim Murray	4,073	46.98	−0.50
	Liberal	George Buri	378	4.36	+0.32
Total valid votes			8,692	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			41
Turnout			8,733	59.79	−7.01
Electors on the lists			14,607

Manitoba general election, 2007
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Rick Borotsik	4,730	48.04	+13.11	$29,059.52
	New Democratic	Scott Smith	4,674	47.48	−13.54	$27,506.06
	Liberal	M.J. Willard	398	4.04	−0.01	$6,098.53
	Communist	Lisa Gallagher	43	0.44
Total valid votes			9,845	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			39
Turnout			9,884	66.80	+6.37
Electors on the lists			14,796

Manitoba general election, 2003
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Scott Smith	5,210	61.02	+11.76	$20,721.62
	Progressive Conservative	Reg Atkinson	2,982	34.93	−10.79	$15,828.88
	Liberal	Candace Sigurdson	346	4.05	−0.04	$2,086.52
Total valid votes			8,538	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			28
Turnout			8,566	60.43	−12.70
Electors on the lists			14,174

Manitoba general election, 1999
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Scott Smith	4,898	49.26		$17,671.00
	Progressive Conservative	James McCrae	4,546	45.72		$29,994.07
	Liberal	Lisa Roy	407	4.09	–	$600.00
	Communist	Lisa Gallagher	92	0.93		$0.00
Total valid votes			9,943	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			75
Turnout			10,018	73.13
Electors on the lists			13,698

Manitoba general election, 1995
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	James McCrae	4,471	49.40
	New Democratic	Derry Decter	2,790	30.83
	Liberal	Mark Barber	1,789	19.78	–
Total valid votes			9,050	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			33
Turnout			9,083	67.75
Electors on the lists			13,407