Brandon East

Brandon East (Brandon-Est) is a provincial electoral division in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It encompasses the southeastern part of the City of Brandon.

Historical riding
The original riding of Brandon East existed from 1886 to 1888, when the City and riding of Brandon was divided into two electoral districts for the first time. The city was re-established as a single riding in 1888.

Current riding
The modern riding of Brandon East was created in 1968, when the City of Brandon was again divided into two separate ridings. It has formally existed since the provincial election of 1969.

The riding borders on Brandon West to the west, and by Spruce Woods in all other directions. Brandon itself is the second-largest city in Manitoba (after Winnipeg), and is in the southwestern region of the province.

Brandon East's population in 1996 was 19,850. In 1999, the average family income was $40,233, and the unemployment rate was 8.60%. The service sector accounts for 19% of the riding's industry, followed by retail trade at 15% and health and social services at 14%. Eleven per cent of the riding's residents are aboriginal.

Brandon East had been a safe seat for the New Democratic Party since its re-creation. This changed at the 2016 election, in which Progressive Conservative candidate Len Isleifson defeated the NDP incumbent Drew Caldwell.

At the 2015 Canadian federal election, according to data from Elections Canada, Brandon East voted heavily Liberal. A provincial riding opinion poll in December 2015 showed Brandon East to be a marginal seat between the Conservative and Liberal parties, with the NDP trailing a poor third.

In the 2018 redistribution, the part of the riding north of the Assiniboine River was moved to Spruce Woods.