What to know about the Spruce Woods riding for Manitoba's 2023 election

• About the riding
• Voting history
• News stories from Spruce Woods
• Meet the candidates
• More riding profiles fromCBCManitoba

The southwest Manitoba riding of Spruce Woods has been around since 2008, but its boundaries changed in the 2018 riding redistribution. The riding lost much of its southern territory to nearby ridings, but gained territory to its north and west.

The current version of the riding surrounds the city of Brandon, but also includes a portion of the city north of the Assiniboine River.

Outside the city, it includes the communities of Souris, Oak Lake, Rivers, Wawanesa, Glenboro and Holland. The constituency also includes part of CFB Shilo.

• Full coverage of the 2023Manitoba election

The riding's population is 22,265, according to the Manitoba Bureau of Statistics, based on data from the 2021 census. That includes 14,746 registered voters as of April 2023.

The median age of the riding is 40.8, according to Elections Manitoba's riding profile slightly older than the provincial median of 38.4. Its median household income is $85,000, according to the riding profile.

More facts about Spruce Woods:

• English is by far the most common language, with nearly 96 per cent of people reporting it as the one spoken at home, according to the most recent riding profile from Elections Manitoba.
• French (0.8 per cent) and German (0.7 per cent) are the next most common languages.
• Almost 10 per cent of people in the riding identify as Indigenous, according to the profile. Another 4.7 per cent identify as being a visible minority, with Filipino (1.2 per cent) being the largest group.
• Just over half of the riding's population (50.2 per cent) report having a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree as their highest level of education.
• The median value of a home was $270,000 in the 2021 census data, up from $235,004 in the 2016 census.
• The average family size is 2.8 people.
• Voter turnout in 2019 was 56.8 per cent.

Voting history

The riding has elected only one MLA Progressive Conservative Cliff Cullen since it was created. He won the seat for the PCs in the 2011, 2016 and 2019 elections.

Cullen announced late last year he would not seek re-election.

Spruce Woods in the news

• Star light, star bright: Spruce Woods Provincial Park is now Manitoba's 1st dark-sky preserve
• Homes, fields in western Manitoba pummelled by 'massive' hail
• Southwestern Manitoba town starts new year with closure of EMS station
• Manitoba Trappist monastery, the last in Western Canada, for sale

Meet the candidates

As of Sept. 11, the nominated candidates for the 2023 election are:

• Michelle Budiwski (Liberal).
• Melissa Ghidoni (NDP).
• Grant Jackson (Progressive Conservative).

Candidates become official when they meet criteria set out in the province's Elections Act, including providing a statement of disclosure after the election has been called. In Spruce Woods, all candidates are official.

Find more CBC Manitoba riding profiles here.