NDP's Carla Compton wins Tuxedo byelection

The NDP has made history and taken yet another seat away from the PCs in Manitoba's legislature, winning the Tuxedo byelection.

All 21 polls finished reporting just before 9:30 p.m. and the NDP's Carla Compton has won the traditional PC stronghold with 3,735 votes.

PC candidate Lawrence Pinsky finished with 3,119 votes. Manitoba Liberal Party candidate Jamie Pfau had 575 votes, and Green Party candidate Janine Gibson had 118 votes.

The NDP will now hold 35 of the legislature's 57 seats, with the PCs holding 21 seats, and the Manitoba Liberal Party holding one.

Compton was a Registered Nurse for 18 years before making the jump to politics. Her campaign website says she was most recently a hemodialysis nurse at St. Boniface Hospital while also running a small consulting business. "A passionate and knowledgeable advocate for public health care in Manitoba, Carla is committed to working alongside Wab Kinew and the NDP team to rebuild health care and lower costs for families," her bio says.

The riding had only ever been held by the Progressive Conservatives. It was created in 1979 by redistribution and first contested in the 1981 election. It was won by Gary Filmon, who would go on to become premier from 1988 until 1999.

He was then succeeded by Heather Stefanson in 2000 who went on to win the riding in every election she faced.

The Tuxedo riding had only been held by two people in its 43-year history - former premier Heather Stefanson and her predecessor, former Premier Gary Filmon. (Elections Manitoba)

Stefanson had won the riding in last fall's provincial election but by only 276 votes.

First elected in 2000 as an MLA, Stefanson became Manitoba's first female premier in 2021. After the Tories lost the Oct. 3 election, Stefanson announced she would be stepping down as party leader. However, she remained in that role until January. On April 25, 2024, she announced her resignation as MLA.

With files from Colleen Houde.