The northwestern Manitoba riding of Flin Flon is one of Manitoba's largest, covering more than 80,000 square kilometres from just south of the city of Flin Flon itself and down to Lake Manitoba east of Flin Flon to the Manitoba-Nunavut border.

The riding, which was created in 1958, is bounded on the west by the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border. Its southeastern part includes the communities of Norway House and Cross Lake, although its border runs west of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, which is part of the Thompson riding.

It covers more than 80,000 square kilometres (50,000 square miles). It extends up the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border to the Manitoba-Nunavut border. Lake Winnipeg now makes up part of the southern boundary. Flin Flon itself is in the southwest corner of the riding.

The riding includes its namesake, Flin Flon, in its southwestern corner, as well as communities including Lynn Lake, Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Pukatawagan, O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation and Brochet.

The riding has made headlines in recent months after the announcement that the city of Flin Flon's only mine, Hudbay's 777 mine, is slated to close by 2021. The mine employs roughly 800 people in the city of roughly 5,000 people (according to the 2016 census) on the Manitoba side of the border.

Pimicikamak Cree Nation also received national attention in 2016 after many of its young people died by suicide, prompting the community to declare a state of emergency.

The riding's population is 22,930, according to the province's 2018 riding profile (compiled from the 2016 census).

The median age of the riding is younger than the overall provincial median, at 28.4 compared to 38.3 provincewide, according to the 2018 riding profile and the 2016 census. The census found the median household income in the area is $60,307.

More facts about Flin Flon:

The riding has more children 14 years old and younger than the province in general (28.7 per cent compared to 19.1 per cent) and fewer adults 65 and older (8.7 per cent compared to 15.6 per cent), according to the province's 2018 profile and the 2016 census.

Roughly three-quarters of residents identified as Indigenous in the 2016 census, the profile says.

More than 17 per cent of residents said they speak Indigenous languages most often at home, including 14 per cent of all residents who said they spoke Cree.

Voting history

The riding has voted NDP for 50 years.

1958 election: Liberal Progressive.

1959, 1962 and 1966 elections: Progressive Conservative.

1969 onwards (13 elections): NDP.

Flin Flon in the news

Meet the candidates

The nominated candidates for the 2019 election are:

James Lindsay (Liberal).

Tom Lindsey (NDP).

Saara Murnick (Green Party of Manitoba).

Theresa Wride (Progressive Conservative).

Candidates become official when they meet criteria set out in the province's Elections Act, including providing a statement of disclosure. In Flin Flon, all four candidates are official.

Find more CBC Manitoba riding profiles here.