Summary: A rural riding on the province’s western border, Conservative Gerry Ritz seeks to be re-elected for a seventh term in Battlefords-Lloydminster.
Boundaries: The riding is anchored by Highway 16 from Lloydminster to just east of North Battleford, stretching as far south as Coleville and as far north as St. Walburg. The riding was virtually unchanged through redistribution.
Last Election: Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz defeated NDP candidate Glenn Tait by 39.8 per cent, his largest margin of victory since 2000.
History: The riding, created prior to the 1997 election, has only been held by Ritz, first elected as an MP for the Reform Party. The riding was created from Kindersley-Lloydminster, which had elected Progressive Conservatives for decades, and The Battlefords-Meadow Lake, which historically alternated between the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP.
Demographics: 22.3 per cent of people were Aboriginal in the 2011 census, the fourth highest number in the province.
Candidates
Conservative: Gerry Ritz, MP since 1997
NDP: Glenn Tait
Liberal: Larry Ingram, sheet metal contractor
Green: Mikaela-Mari Tenkink
Independent: Doug Anguish