Although Elections Manitoba is celebrating our 40th anniversary this year, the first election in Manitoba goes back to the creation of the province in 1870.

The first general election in Manitoba was held on December 27, 1870. Political parties as we know them today didn’t exist in Manitoba at that time, and neither did the position of premier.

Alfred Boyd, a prominent politician of the day who held the title of Provincial Secretary, is considered by some to be Manitoba’s first premier.

Manitoba’s first Lieutenant Governor, Adams George Archibald, also played a prominent role in government, creating the voters list for Manitoba’s first election.

That first vote in Manitoba would be unrecognizable by today’s election standards – voters gathered at public meetings and voted by a show of hands. The secret ballot wasn’t introduced until Manitoba’s seventh general election in 1888.

There were 24 Members of the Legislative Assembly elected in 1870, one for each electoral division. That number was increased as the population of Manitoba grew, to 55 in 1920. In 1946, three seats were added to represent the three branches of the Armed Forces.

Those seats were eliminated in 1949, and one more was added, bringing the total to the 57 we have today.

Do you know your electoral division? You can find it at http://www.electionsmanitoba.ca/en/Voting/MyVotingInfo.