Lac du Bonnet (electoral district)

Lac du Bonnet is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1957, and has formally existed since the provincial election of 1958. It is a relatively large constituency, located to the northeast of Winnipeg.

Lac du Bonnet is bordered to the west by Selkirk and Springfield, to the south by La Verendrye, to the north by Rupertsland and to the east by the Ontario border. Communities in the riding include Lac Du Bonnet, Pinawa, Beausejour (known as the birthplace of Edward Schreyer) and Whitemouth.

The riding is currently regarded as a PC/NDP marginal. The Tories have held the seat since 1988, though they retained it by only a narrow majority in 2003.

Demographics

The riding's population in 1996 was 20,035. As of 1999, the average family income was $45,693, and the unemployment rate was 9.00%. There are a number of diverse economic communities in the riding, including farming, forestry and nuclear research. The service sector accounted for 12% of the riding's industry in 1999, followed by 10% in health and social services.

Lac Du Bonnet is an ethnically diverse riding. Eighteen per cent of the riding's residents are aboriginal, along with 9% German and 6% Ukrainian. Six per cent of the riding's residents are francophone.

List of provincial representatives

Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
A.A. Trapp	Lib-Prog	1958	1959
Oscar Bjornson	PC	1959	1969
Sam Uskiw	NDP	1969	1986
Clarence Baker	NDP	1986	1988
Darren Praznik	PC	1988	2002
Gerald Hawranik	PC	2002	"present"