Arthur-Virden
Arthur-Virden
Defunct provincial electoral district in Manitoba, Canada
Arthur-Virden is a former provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1989, combining the former constituencies of Arthur and Virden.
Arthur-Virden was located in the southwestern corner of the province. It was bordered to the north by Riding Mountain, to the east by Spruce Woods, to the west by the province of Saskatchewan and to the south by the American state of North Dakota.[1]
Communities in the former riding included Virden, Elkhorn, Oak Lake, Hartney, Deloraine, Melita, Reston, and Boissevain.[1]
In 1999, the average family income was $41,338, and the unemployment rate was 4.80%. The former riding is primarily agrarian, with agriculture accounting for 32% of its industry.
Ten per cent of Arthur-Virden's residents listed German as their ethnic background. The former riding had one of the highest rates of senior citizens in the province, with 19.7% of the total population.
Arthur-Virden, and the two ridings from which it was formed, were Progressive Conservative seats from 1953 to its dissolution in 2018. The northern chunk of Arthur-Virden was absorbed by Riding Mountain, and its southern portion joined with that of Spruce Woods and Midland to form the new riding of Turtle Mountain.[2][3] Doyle Piwniuk was the last MLA for Arthur-Virden, and was re-elected in the 2019 election as the MLA for the newly-formed Turtle Mountain.[2][3]
