The Manitoba government has announced a byelection for the Transcona riding on Tuesday, March 18.
The new member elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba will replace the riding’s former MLA, Nello Altomare, who passed away on Jan. 14. Altomare was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin’s lymphoma — a type of blood cancer — in 2019.
Elected that same year and re-elected in 2023, Altomare previously served as a teacher and administrator within the province before being the critic and then minister of education and early childhood learning. The U of M lowered the flag on the Administration Building to half-mast for a week in January in memory of the late minister.
Advance voting will start on March 8 at the local election office at 100 Paquin Road until March 17, and will be ongoing at the All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 1500 Day Street, until March 15.
Residents of the Transcona riding can vote in the byelection provided they are a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years of age on election day and have lived in Manitoba for at least six months before the election date.
The Manitoba NDP have nominated Shannon Corbett to contest the byelection. Corbett, a lifelong resident of Transcona, has spent decades working in the River East Transcona School Division and currently serves as the vice-principal of Transcona Collegiate, according to the party’s website.
The province’s official opposition, the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, have nominated Shawn Nason to contest the race. Nason previously served as Transcona’s city councillor from 2018 to 2022 and as a special legislative assistant to provincial ministers, the party said in a press release.
A representative of the Liberal party stated that they will be announcing a candidate for the byelection on Feb. 24.
The Green Party of Manitoba will not be running a candidate in the byelection out of respect for Minister Altomare’s passing, said party president Dennis Bayomi in a statement.
The riding in east Winnipeg has been a stronghold for the Manitoba NDP for decades, having been held by the NDP for five consecutive elections since first being contested in 1969. The riding was picked up by the Liberals in 1988 and was gained in 2016 by the Progressive Conservatives with Blair Yakimoski.
The Manitoba Legislature is currently composed of 33 New Democrats, 21 Progressive Conservatives, one independent Liberal, one independent member and one vacant seat.
