Dan Mazier Re-Elected in Riding Mountain as Students Cast Their Ballots at Neepawa Middle School

While the 2025 federal election delivered a minority government for the Liberal Party, it was a familiar outcome in Manitoba’s Riding Mountain electoral district: Conservative MP Dan Mazier was re-elected for another term. The riding includes Neepawa and many surrounding rural communities.

NACTV’s Christine Waddell was on the ground at Mazier’s election night gathering, where he delivered his victory speech and took questions from local media.

“Tonight, the people of Riding Mountain have spoken,” said Mazier. “This campaign has been about fighting for rural Canadians, and tonight rural Canadians made their voices heard loud and clear. They want a fighter for their community in Parliament.”

But before the ballots were counted on election night, another important vote took place—this one at Neepawa Middle School (NMS), where students participated in a nationwide Student Vote initiative.

The Student Vote program gives schools the resources to hold their mock election, complete with ballots and ballot boxes that mirror the real process. All students at NMS were given time during class to participate, with Joanne Freeman’s Grade 6 class taking the lead in running the polling station. From checking IDs to issuing ballots, the students treated their roles with great seriousness.

"Not every student will be able to vote because some of them might not have a student ID," explained Bella, one of the student election workers. "You're only supposed to vote if you have an ID."

Out of 450 students, 387 cast their ballots. NACTV spoke with several as they left the polling station — not about who they voted for, but how they made their decisions.

"I looked at a balance of issues — the environment, pricing, tariffs — and wanted someone who could handle the stress of those issues and still care for the country,” said one student. Another cited the climate crisis and tariffs as top concerns, while another pointed to the rising costs affecting the family farm. Overall, students appeared well-informed and engaged with the national issues at stake.

Dan Mazier also won the student vote at NMS, but with a notably smaller share — 41.9% compared to the 67.1% he received in the official election. Support for the Liberal and PPC candidates was consistent between the two votes, but the NDP and Green Party saw significantly more backing from students. While it's too early to conclude, the results suggest that the next generation of voters may lean in a different direction than today’s electorate.

Also featured in this week’s show is an excerpt from Liway Cabrera’s interview with Philippine Deputy Consul General Kerwin Tate, from the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, and Honorary Consul Ronald Opina of Winnipeg. This marks the second Philippine consular outreach in Neepawa, following last year’s successful visit.

In addition to general services, this year’s outreach supported registered voters with online voting for the Philippine mid-term election, which takes place on May 12.

This week on NACTV:

• 0:00 Intro

• 3:05 Federal Election Student Vote

• 10:38 Dan Mazier Election Night

• 25:06 Philippine Consular Outreach