Winnipeg Centre (provincial electoral division)

Winnipeg Centre was a provincial electoral division in Manitoba, Canada. It existed on three separate occasions.

It was initially created for the 1888 provincial election, and was abolished in the 1920 election when Winnipeg was made into a single ten-member constituency. It was then re-established for the elections of 1949 and 1953, as a four-member constituency. This constituency was eliminated in 1958 and divided into several single-member constituencies, one of which was also called Winnipeg Centre. This single-member constituency lasted until 1981, when it too was eliminated through redistribution.

Winnipeg Centre (original constituency, 1888-1920)

Winnipeg Centre was created for the 1888 election, when the city of Winnipeg was granted a third seat. It had previously been represented in the legislature by Winnipeg North and Winnipeg South.

Winnipeg Centre was a single-member constituency until the 1914 election, when it returned two members. Electors were allowed to cast ballots for two seats, which were called "Winnipeg Centre A" and "Winnipeg Centre B".

The constituency only returned four representatives in its history, all of whom were prominent figures. Daniel Hunter McMillan was a cabinet minister in Thomas Greenway's government, and later served as the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba from 1911 to 1916. Thomas Taylor, his successor, had served as Mayor of Winnipeg in the 1890s. Thomas Herman Johnson was a prominent minister under Tobias C. Norris.

Fred Dixon, the fourth legislator returned for Winnipeg Centre, was notable as the first labour representative in the legislature. In the elections of 1914 and 1915, he was co-endorsed by the Liberal Party and the Labour Representation Committee.

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Winnipeg Centre

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Daniel Hunter McMillan
Liberal
1888
1900
Thomas Taylor
Conservative
1900
1910

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Winnipeg Centre "A"

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Thomas Herman Johnson
Liberal
1914
1920

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Winnipeg Centre "B"

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Fred Dixon
Independent
1914
1920

Winnipeg Centre (four-member constituency, 1949-1958)

The single Winnipeg constituency into three sections for the 1949 election: Winnipeg North, Winnipeg Centre and Winnipeg South. All three constituencies elected four members to the legislature, with electors choosing representatives by a single transferable ballot.

The electorate of Winnipeg Centre was divided between supporters of the socialist Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, the Liberal-Progressive and the Progressive Conservative Party. Independent candidate Stephen Juba also won election to the legislature in 1953.

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Winnipeg Centre (1949-1958)

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Charles Rhodes Smith
Liberal-Progressive
1949
1952
Paul Bardal
Liberal-Progressive
1949
1953
Jack St. John
Liberal-Progressive
1953
1958
Donovan Swailes
CCF
1949
1958
Gordon Fines
CCF
1949
1953
H.B. Scott
PC
1953
1958
Stephen Juba
Independent
1953
1958

Winnipeg Centre (single member constituency, 1958-1981)

The single-member electoral division of Winnipeg Centre was created with the 1958 election, after the four-member division of the same name was eliminated.

The constituency was represented by Progressive Conservative James Cowan from 1958 to 1969, and was considered safe for the PC Party. Joseph "Bud" Boyce of the New Democratic Party won it in 1969, and held it until its abolition in 1981. Boyce left the NDP to join the newly-formed Progressive Party prior to the 1981 election.

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Winnipeg Centre (1958-1981)

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James Cowan
PC
1958
1969
Joseph Boyce
NDP
1969
1981
Joseph Boyce
Progressive
1981
1981