The 2023 Manitoba General Election saw a lot of attention across the province as seats changed hands and leadership swung from PC to NDP for the next four years. In the Agassiz constituency, which includes the Town of Neepawa, first-time MLA Jodie Byram was elected in a decisive victory over her opponents. Byram is no stranger to the legislature, having served as former MLA Eileen Clarke’s assistant for the past nine years, and now will hold the Agassiz seat for the Progressive Conservative party.

Byrams’s victory speech from downtown Neepawa talks about her history with the community and with Clarke, and thanks her many supporters for their unwavering commitment to her throughout the campaign.

Manitoba moved to a new balloting system in 2023, and though the process remains similar to previous years in terms of retaining a paper ballot, there were a few changes to get used to. Voters are now permitted to vote at any location within their constituency, not just the one in their voting area, thanks to a switch to an electronic voting list as well as an electronic ballot counter in many, but not all, locations. That change is what prompted a need to identify the voter’s voting area on the ballot they submitted. Many voters were unsure of just what was being recorded on their ballot, but Elections Manitoba assures voters that they are still in no way personally identified on the ballot they cast.

Neepawa Middle School also got in on the voting action in the Provincial Election, as they do for all elections from Municipal to Federal. The school participates in a national Student Vote program run by CIVIX, where students both run and vote in a parallel election within the school where they learn about the entire voting process as well as about the various parties and candidates.

This year students used coverage of the Agassiz Candidates Forum in the classroom to help them learn about the issues and the platforms of the candidates. Grade 6 students were tasked with the various election duties from controlling the voters’ line and checking IDs to handing out the ballots and counting votes. When it came to the candidates, one student identified agriculture as the primary issue she was looking for. Another mentioned that roads and daycares seemed to be priorities for candidates in the Agassiz constituency. All students we spoke with came across as well informed about both the process and the issues.

The election results from the Manitoba 2023 Student Vote, as well as details aimed at educators about the program in general, are available at studentvote.ca.