Winnipeg Free Press – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

Grifols plasma collection centre reopens

Innovation Drive location back in business after inspection from Health Canada

Chris Kitching 5 minute read Updated: 5:12 PM CDT

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Winnipeg soldiers help search and rescue efforts in Wainwright

Kelly-Anne Riess 2 minute read Preview

Winnipeg soldiers help search and rescue efforts in Wainwright

Kelly-Anne Riess 2 minute read 12:54 PM CDT

Eleven military search and rescue technicians from Winnipeg were deployed to Wainwright, Alta. following a fire that killed four military members and injured 39 others during a live-fire training exercise Saturday.

It was the largest mobilization of SAR Techs, elite primary-care paramedics in the Royal Canadian Air Force, in recent memory, a military spokesperson told the Free Press.

Every search and rescue technician available from 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, located at 17 Wing Winnipeg — even those off duty — were sent to Wainwright.

The technicians, who have special training to jump from aircraft into extreme environments, parachuted onto the scene from a CC-130H Hercules airplane to provide care for those injured in the fast-moving grass fire that engulfed a training area at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright.

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12:54 PM CDT

Local

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
Premier Wab Kinew announced Tuesday his government is aiming to strengthen protections for renters.

Policy change gives Manitoba renters a break from proposed hikes

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Preview

Policy change gives Manitoba renters a break from proposed hikes

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Updated: 5:33 PM CDT

Aidan Wilson said he was reduced to tears after getting a call from Premier Wab Kinew’s office.

He’d just learned tenants of a West Broadway apartment, including himself, would no longer pay a hundreds-of-dollars monthly rent increase as of Nov. 1.

“It’s been a lot to deal with, it’s a lot to push for, and it’s a lot to speak up. All of these emotions just kind of came flooding out,” Wilson said Tuesday at a news conference alongside Kinew.

The premier announced that renters will not have to pay the increases until the provincial Residential Tenancies Branch hears landlords’ arguments and issues its decisions.

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Updated: 5:33 PM CDT

Winnipeg Jets

Barron brothers clash for eighth NHL dogfight

Ken Wiebe 6 minute read Preview

Barron brothers clash for eighth NHL dogfight

Ken Wiebe 6 minute read 5:40 PM CDT

ST. LOUIS — This is what all of those endless games of mini sticks, countless hours on the outdoor rinks and extra reps in the gym were meant to bring about one day.

While the shine might not be quite as bright for Morgan and Justin Barron, the appreciation for the opportunity to go head-to-head in an NHL rink has yet to dull and it’s not something they’re about to take for granted.

Tuesday’s clash against the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues marked the eighth NHL meeting between the Barron brothers, who took divergent paths after growing up in Halifax.

“I’m always pulling for him and then all of a sudden, you’re fighting in the corner for a puck,” Morgan recalled after the morning skate on Tuesday. “It’s no different than in the summer or playing mini sticks in the basement and all of that stuff.

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5:40 PM CDT

Civic Election

CITY OF WINNIPEG St. James ward boundary map.

Dobson up against two tech types in St. James council race

Malak Abas 6 minute read Preview

Dobson up against two tech types in St. James council race

Malak Abas 6 minute read 5:19 PM CDT

Two tech-savvy newcomers to civic politics are taking on Shawn Dobson, the incumbent city councillor in St. James.

Tyler Crichton, a senior project manager for a corporate IT company, and Kelly Ryback, a retired manager with Bell MTS, are hoping to oust Dobson, who is seeking a second term in the ward.

Dobson has a long resumé as a candidate; he ran unsuccessfully in the former St. Charles ward in 2002, 2006 and 2010 before winning that council seat in 2014. He lost his bid for a second term in 2018 in St. James to then-councillor and current Mayor Scott Gillingham in 2018.

When Gillingham jumped into the 2022 mayoral race, Dobson secured the St. James seat.

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5:19 PM CDT

Civic Election: Key Information

CITY OF WINNIPEG
St. Vital ward boundary map.

New blood in St. Vital

Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read Preview

New blood in St. Vital

Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read Updated: 5:02 PM CDT

Candidates to fill the wide-open St. Vital city council seat are sharing their plans to ease traffic, tighten up development rules, protect trees and improve Winnipeg Transit.

Coun. Brian Mayes led the ward since 2011 but is not running for re-election, guaranteeing a new city councillor will be chosen.

Chris Sigurdson, a Louis Riel School Division trustee and criminal defence lawyer, is competing for the job with Mayes’ endorsement.

Sigurdson said his trustee work over the last 16 years provided a valuable education in local government that he could apply at city hall.

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Updated: 5:02 PM CDT

Opinion

Separation is dead, now Canada must unite Tom Brodbeck Updated: 3:20 PM CDT
Surprising announcement opens door slightly for accountability in police HQ saga Dan Lett Updated: Yesterday at 5:31 PM CDT
Reviving democracy requires engagement John R. Wiens Updated: 7:07 AM CDT

Local

The family of a First Nations girl who was fatally shot by Winnipeg police six years ago is renewing calls for a public inquiry into police-related deaths of Indigenous police following the conclusion of an inquest into the girl's death. Eishia Hudson is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (Mandatory Credit)

‘More than just a headline:’ Winnipeg family seeks public inquiry into police death

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

‘More than just a headline:’ Winnipeg family seeks public inquiry into police death

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 5:16 PM CDT

WINNIPEG - First Nations leadership and the family of a First Nations girl fatally shot by Winnipeg police are renewing calls for a public inquiry into police-related deaths of Indigenous people.

Eishia Hudson was shot on April 8, 2020, after police responded to reports of a liquor store robbery and chased a stolen Jeep. Police have said the stolen vehicle "rammed" into a police cruiser and hit other cars during the pursuit before shots were fired.

An inquest into the 16-year-old's death, which concluded on Friday, heard an officer fired two shots at Eishia because he believed the lives of fellow officers were in danger.

William Hudson, Eishia's father, is pushing for the province to call a public inquiry to examine the broader issue of police-related deaths and how Manitoba investigates them.

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Updated: 5:16 PM CDT

Canada

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about the incident at CFB Wainwright as he rises in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Political leaders say Alberta referendum shows Canada can work — but needs work

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Political leaders say Alberta referendum shows Canada can work — but needs work

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 4:49 PM CDT

EDMONTON - From Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia, political leaders say Alberta’s decision to stay in Canada shows the country can work — but needs work.

"It's a great result for Canada that Albertans have chosen unity," Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters Tuesday in Ottawa. "They've chosen to build together. They've chosen to continue to take care of each other."

On Monday, three quarters of Albertans voted to stay in Canada in a referendum called by Premier Danielle Smith.

The remaining quarter voted to hold a second, binding referendum on leaving Canada. Many of those who said they were voting for this option have said they were either voting to leave, or voting to send a message to Ottawa to not take Alberta for granted.

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Updated: 4:49 PM CDT

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Civic Election

(Matthew Frank / Free Press) Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein holds attack ads by the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500 during a press conference Tuesday.

Klein calls union’s attack ads ‘dirty politics,’ urges Gillingham to reject support

Matthew Frank 4 minute read Preview

Klein calls union’s attack ads ‘dirty politics,’ urges Gillingham to reject support

Matthew Frank 4 minute read Updated: 5:47 PM CDT

Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein said attack ads from Winnipeg’s largest union are an example of “dirty politics” and verge on United States-style campaigning.

The pamphlets, signed by the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500, show a United States flag draped behind Klein, with text stating he has sided with “the broader alt-right political movement” and defends the U.S.

“As Canadians we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. This is not the politics that we have experienced in the City of Winnipeg. This is not the type of politics we want to experience in Canada,” he said during a Tuesday news conference at his campaign headquarters.

He called on incumbent candidate Scott Gillingham to denounce the ads and reject the union’s campaign support.

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Updated: 5:47 PM CDT

Local

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Teacher commissioner Noni Classen said both teachers who were stripped of their licences sent messages to students during the day and late at night.

Inappropriate late-night texts to students costs teachers their jobs

Maggie Macintosh 6 minute read Preview

Inappropriate late-night texts to students costs teachers their jobs

Maggie Macintosh 6 minute read Updated: 5:41 PM CDT

Manitoba’s independent teacher commissioner has cancelled two certificates this month because of inappropriate late-night messaging with minors.

Robert Gregoire is no longer permitted to teach in the River East Transcona School Division or elsewhere in the province after he was found to have called a student “my beautiful” and “princess,” among other pet names he used in online communications over multiple years.

Brady Nurse, who became the subject of a workplace probe after RCMP contacted the Portage la Prairie School Division about his actions, was also recently stripped of his licence.

New consent resolution agreements — public documents outlining agreed-upon facts and consequences in disciplinary cases — reveal the men in both cases repeatedly engaged in boundary-crossing behaviour.

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Updated: 5:41 PM CDT

Local

Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press Files Leaked government documents showed that more than 15,000 students had severe chronic absenteeism in the 2023-2024 school year.

Empty desks: Advocates talk chronic school absenteeism

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Updated: 3:16 PM CDT

Local

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Inquiry commissioner Garth Smorang’s report finds “fictional” invoices show Babakhanians’ actions amount to “misconduct.”

Katz ‘violated public trust,’ Sheegl lacked ‘moral compass,’ police HQ inquiry commissioner concludes

Joyanne Pursaga 8 minute read Preview

Katz ‘violated public trust,’ Sheegl lacked ‘moral compass,’ police HQ inquiry commissioner concludes

Joyanne Pursaga 8 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:29 PM CDT

The final report from the public inquiry into the scandal-plagued Winnipeg Police Service headquarters construction project concludes that former mayor Sam Katz and former city CAO Phil Sheegl broke public trust and engaged in unethical conduct.

And the report, released Monday by inquiry commissioner Garth Smorang, says the cost of the project — transforming a downtown Canada Post office tower and warehouse into the police HQ — soared, in part, because main contractor Caspian Projects overcharged the city by more than $40 million in expenses.

The project’s initial $135-million initial price tag rose to about $209 million in the end. The city purchased the complex in 2009; construction was completed in 2016.

Smorang’s report concludes Katz “violated the public trust” and council code of conduct, and Sheegl suffered from a “complete lack of a moral compass.”

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Updated: Yesterday at 7:29 PM CDT