Regina - Lumsden - Lake Centre

This riding encompasses an area north and west of Regina, plus part of the city north of the CP Rail line and west of North Pasqua Street and Lewvan Drive. Included are urban, working-class neighbourhoods, as well as middle-class suburbs such as Lumsden and smaller communities such as Nokomis, Semans, Eyebrow, Regina Beach and Duval.

Immigrants make up less than five per cent of the population; aboriginals less than seven per cent. English is the mother tongue of more than 92 per cent of residents.

Because this riding ranges from urban to rural, the economy is diverse and includes retail trade, the service sector, agriculture, construction and manufacturing.

The 2006 census shows an average family income of $79,109 and an unemployment rate of 4.2 per cent.

This riding was created in 1996 by combining two-thirds of Regina-Lumsden with portions of Moose Jaw-Lake Centre, Regina-Qu'Appelle and Mackenzie.

Population: 65,885 (2006 census; a decrease of 0.7% since 2001)

Political History

Conservative incumbent Tom Lukiwski won by a comfortable margin in 2006, taking 42 per cent of the vote. In 2004, Lukiwski defeated Liberal Gary Anderson by just 122 votes.

Until 2000, this region had been a New Democrat stronghold for decades: the NDP's Les Benjamin served here from 1968 to 1993 and was succeeded by fellow New Democrat John Solomon, who defeated Liberal Anita Bergman in 1993 and Reform's Gerry Fuller in 1997. In 2000, however, Solomon was unseated, losing by just 161 votes to the Canadian Alliance's Larry Spencer.

Spencer was booted from the Alliance caucus in 2003 after stating that homosexuality should be outlawed. He was later turned down for admission to the Conservative Party of Canada. He ran as an Independent in 2004, but garnered less than five per cent of the vote.

• 1997 - NDP
• 2000 - CA
• 2004, 2006 - CON