Meet the Elmwood-Transcona candidates
Written by Taylor Daigneault for the Winnipeg Free Press Community Review
Elmwood-Transcona has been without a member of parliament since Daniel Blaikie’s move from federal MP to provincial special advisor on intergovernmental affairs on April 3.
According to Elections Canada, the earliest date this by-election could have been held was May 20. On July 28, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, announced that the Elmwood-Transcona by-election will be held on Sept. 16. As this is written, five parties have selected their candidates to run in the by-election, and two have formally confirmed their candidacy with Elections Canada.
Elections Canada has confirmed that Leila Dance will be the New Democratic Party of Canada, while the Conservative Party of Canada is running Colin Reynolds. The Liberal Party of Canada, People’s Party of Canada and Green Party of Canada have until Monday, Aug. 26 to add the names of Ian MacIntyre, Byron Gryba, and Nic Geddert, respectively, to the electoral agency’s official list of candidates. Any independents will have to do so by the same date.
The boundaries of the federal riding of Elmwood-Transcona. Voters in the district will go to the polls on Monday, Sept. 16 to elect a member of parliament to replace Daniel Blaikie.
Dance is described in an NDP press release as “a lifelong resident of Elmwood-Transcona” who has “spent the last four years working as the executive director of the Transcona BIZ.” If elected, Dance would be the first woman MP in the history of the riding, going back to 1871.
Reynolds, who grew up in Valley Gardens, shares in his pinned video on X (formerly Twitter) that he is “a construction electrician, and a proud member of IBEW Local 2085.” Mispronouncing the federal NDP leader’s name, Reynolds continues, “Jagmeet Singh and Justin Trudeau’s costly coalition [sic] does not represent union workers like me.”
A Liberal Party of Canada press release describes MacIntyre’s acclamation as a “a retired teacher and union leader.” MacIntyre “spent 24 years as an educator with the River East Transcona School Division, and previously served as president of the Manitoba Teacher’s Society.” He has lived and worked in Winnipeg for over 30 years. The Liberal Party last won this riding in 1953.
The PPC profile of Gryba includes that he is “president of a property management business which he operates with his wife” and previously ran for the PPC in the Selkirk–Interlake–Eastman riding.
The Green Party profile of Geddert shares that “Nic is a dedicated community advocate.” He has volunteered with “the Spence Neighbourhood Association, Community Roots Resource Centre, Habitat for Humanity, 1JustCity, Syn-o-nym, and Storefront MB.”
