Traditionally a rural riding, Lakeside has become more urban in recent years (as a result of both electoral redistribution and changes in demography).

The riding is bordered to the north by Interlake, to the west by Portage la Prairie, to the south by Morris and to the east by Gimli.

Communities include Argyle, Balmoral, Rosser, Gunton, Stonewall, Stony Mountain, Teulon, Warren, Woodlands and Inwood.

It has traditionally elected representatives of agrarian interests, both of the Liberal and Progressive Conservative parties.

Lakeside's best-known Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Douglas Campbell, represented the constituency for 47 years, first as a Progressive, then as a Liberal-Progressive, then as a Liberal—longer than anyone in provincial history.