MP Niki Ashton lost Flin Flon and Thompson in last fall’s election as she won the Churchill-Keewatinook Aski riding by fewer than 1,000 votes, newly released figures show.
Elections Canada last week released poll-by-poll results and official tabulations from the October federal election.
Of the three urban centres in her riding, Ashton narrowly won just one, The Pas. She topped Liberal candidate Rebecca Chartrand by 21 votes (1,032 to 1,011) in that community.
In Flin Flon, Chartrand bested Ashton by 113 votes (937 to 824). In a five-way race, Chartrand earned about 37 per cent of all votes in the community compared to 32 per cent for Ashton.
Ashton also lost Flin Flon in 2011. More unexpected in 2015 was the loss she sustained in her hometown of Thompson, where Chartrand won by 72 votes (1,809 to 1,737).
These figures are not precise, however, given that Elections Canada does not break down the location of mobile polls or the home communities of voters who cast ballots in prison, through the armed forces or by special ballot. In Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, these voters favoured Chartrand by 21 votes (499 to 478).
In Flin Flon, Conservative candidate Kyle Mirecki came in third with 640 votes (25 per cent). August Hastmann of the Green Party took 101 votes (four per cent). Libertarian Zachary Linnick, the only Flin Flon native in the race, collected 42 votes (two per cent).
Voter turnout in Flin Flon was about 59 per cent, but again this figure excludes residents who may have voted through means by which their location was not identified.
Elsewhere in the region, Chartrand won Sherridon by one vote over Ashton (18 to 17), while Cranberry Portage voters favoured Ashton over Chartrand by five votes (125 to 120).
Snow Lake bucked the trend of favouring the Liberals or NDP. There, Conservative Mirecki had 167 votes – 38 more than second-place Chartrand and 53 more than third-place Ashton.
Verified results show Ashton took Churchill-Keewatinook Aski over Chartrand by 912 votes. Ashton secured 45 per cent of the popular vote compared to 42 per cent for Chartrand.
Previously reported results had Ashton winning the riding by 1,555 votes, but this figure was unofficial and excluded a small percentage of polls that were late in reporting.
Across the border, Creighton and Denare Beach voters also favoured an unsuccessful candidate in incumbent Conservative MP Rob Clarke.
In Creighton, Clarke earned 282 votes – 43 more than second-place finisher Lawrence Joseph of the Liberals with 239 votes.
The NDP’s Georgina Jolibois, who narrowly won the election, was third in Creighton with 207 tallies. Warren Koch of the Green Party took 50 votes.
Denare Beach voters cast 121 ballots for Clarke – 32 more than for the second-place Jolibois with 89 votes. Close behind with 87 votes was Joseph. Koch had 16 votes.
Across the Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River riding, Jolibois’ official margin of victory was 82 votes over Joseph, or 0.27 per cent.
Back in northern Manitoba, several First Nations voted heavily in favour of Liberal candidate Chartrand, who is indigenous. She outpolled Ashton 775 to 236 in St. Theresa Point, 513 to 50 in Garden Hill, 559 to 528 in Norway House and 118 to 27 in Red Sucker Lake.
Chartrand also earned 210 votes to Ashton’s 69 in Waasagomach, 119 to Ashton’s 113 in Oxford House and 10 to Ashton’s four in Island Lake. Nelson House ballots were 420 to 186 in favour of Chartrand.
Ashton’s support was strong in Cross Lake, where she received 1,108 votes compared to 447 for Chartrand. Other First Nations communities tilting Ashton’s way included Pukatawagan, Lac Brochet, South Indian Lake and Easterville, among others.
– With files from the Thompson Citizen
2015 Federal Election Results
Flin Flon
Rebecca Chartrand, LIB 937
Niki Ashton, NDP* 824
Kyle Mirecki, CON 640
August Hastmann, GRN 101
Zachary Linnick, LBT 42
Creighton
Rob Clarke, CON 282
Lawrence Joseph, LIB 239
Georgina Jolibois, NDP* 207
Warren Koch, GRN 50
Denare Beach
Rob Clarke, CON 121
Georgina Jolibois, NDP* 89
Lawrence Joseph, LIB 87
Warren Koch, GRN 16
* Elected
(Figures do not include residents who may have voted at a mobile poll or in prison, through the armed forces or by special ballot.)
