River East

File:RiverEastED2011.jpg

The 2011- boundaries for River East highlighted in red

River East is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was officially created by redistribution in 1979, and has formally existed since the provincial election of 1981. The riding is located on the northeast corner of the City of Winnipeg. It is bordered by the Red River to the west, the city limit, by Springfield to the north and east, and by the riding of Rossmere to the south.

River East is an affluent district with an average income of $62,534 and an unemployment rate of 5.60% in 1999. It also has a large immigrant population, at 17% of the total population. Twelve per cent of River East's residents list German as their ethnic origin, while a further 9% list Ukrainian. The riding's total population in 1996 was 19,840.

It is currently the only riding in the northern part of Winnipeg to be represented by a Progressive Conservative. Bonnie Mitchelson has been the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the area since 1986, and has been re-elected five times. Once considered safe for the Progressive Conservatives, the seat has become extremely marginal for the party, with Mitchelson being re-elected in the 2007 provincial election by only 52 votes over a relatively unknown New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP) candidate. Bonnie Mitchelson announced her retirement in October, 2014. She will not be seeking re-election in the 2016 provincial election.

List of provincial representatives

Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
Phil Eyler	NDP	1981	1986
Bonnie Mitchelson	PC	1986	2015

Electoral results

Manitoba general election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Progressive Conservative	Cathy Cox
	New Democratic	Jody Gillis
	Green				–
	Liberal
Total valid votes
Rejected and declined ballots
Turnout
Electors on the lists

Manitoba general election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Progressive Conservative	Bonnie Mitchelson	5,247	51.08	+4.45
	New Democratic	Kurt Penner	4,512	43.92	−2.15
	Green	Kelly Mitchell	274	2.67	–
	Liberal	Chris Pelda	188	1.83	−4.97
Total valid votes			10,221
Rejected and declined ballots			52
Turnout			10,273	67.00
Electors on the lists			15,332
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-

Manitoba general election, 2007
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Bonnie Mitchelson	4,361	46.63	−4.65	$29,722.71
	New Democratic	Kurt Penner	4,309	46.07	−0.33	$24,605.30
	Liberal	Margaret von Lau	639	6.80	+3.83	$8,485.65
Total valid votes			9,309	99.54
Rejected and declined ballots			43
Turnout			9,352	67.60	−0.41
Electors on the lists			13,835
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-

Manitoba general election, 2003
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Bonnie Mitchelson	4,935	51.28	+1.29	$28,259.55
	New Democratic	Doug Longstaffe	4,402	45.74	+2.67	$19,179.77
	Liberal	Fred Curry	286	2.97	−3.89	$239.00
Total valid votes			9,623	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			35
Turnout			9,658	68.01
Electors on the lists			14,201
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-

Manitoba general election, 1999
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Bonnie Mitchelson	5,366	49.99		$29,856.57
	New Democratic	Ross Eadie	4,624	43.07		$15,953.00
	Liberal	Patrick Saydak	688	6.86	–	$1,187.72
Total valid votes			10,678	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			57
Turnout			10,735	77.30
Electors on the lists			13,877
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-

Previous boundaries

File:RiverEast98.png

The 1999-2011 boundaries for River East highlighted in red