Top News – Winnipeg Free Press

The section of the skywalk system that connects the Millennium Library to Cityplace shopping centre. (Mike Deal / Free press)

Skywalk attacks latest example of random violence in Winnipeg

Erik Pindera 5 minute read Updated: 8:10 PM CST

Fed up with safety concerns in Winnipeg’s downtown, union officials are speaking out after police arrested a man accused of randomly assaulting three women walking in the skywalk system last week.

Gord Delbridge, the president of CUPE Local 500 — which represents about 5,000 City of Winnipeg public service workers — said officials from various unions recently met for a meeting about the safety of their members.

“We feel that we have to ramp up safety and security in the downtown core,” Delbridge said Monday. “We’re seeing it, from various locations, whether it’s the Millennium (Library) or whether it’s Portage Place where we’ve got federal employees… and we’ve got provincial employees at various other locations… everyone is very much concerned about this, the safety and security in the downtown core.”

The meeting occurred before Christmas, said Delbridge. It also included officials from the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, unions for emergency services and unions that represent various federal public sector workers, he said.

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Digital health cards ready for download

Tyler Searle 4 minute read Preview

Digital health cards ready for download

Tyler Searle 4 minute read Updated: 7:06 PM CST

The provincial government has launched an online application that allows Manitobans to access a digital version of their health card on their cellphones.

The move is intended to modernize access to health care, alleviate administrative burdens and provide added convenience to patients and parents, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Monday.

“This is a big deal,” Asagwara said. “This is about removing small barriers that cause pretty big stress. It’s about making sure that you can access care no matter where you are.”

Manitobans who are registered in the provincial health system can request a digital version of their health cards, provided they have access to a Manitoba health card account and have installed the MB Wallet app on their mobile device.

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Updated: 7:06 PM CST

SUPPLIED
The MB Wallet app is available for free through Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

Kinew extends Manitobans’ support for Minnesota neighbours in wake of fatal shooting by federal agent

Tyler Searle 6 minute read Preview

Kinew extends Manitobans’ support for Minnesota neighbours in wake of fatal shooting by federal agent

Tyler Searle 6 minute read Updated: 6:07 PM CST

Premier Wab Kinew expressed solidarity with Minnesotans Monday, following days of protests in the U.S. state after a federal immigration officer fatally shot a woman in the head last week.

Kinew spoke with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz by phone in the morning, and previously reached out to Minnesota Lt.-Gov. Peggy Flanagan after last Wednesday's shooting that killed 37-year-old mother Renee Good, he said.

The premier described the incident as a “terrible tragedy” during a news conference Monday.

“I let him know that we here in Manitoba support our neighbours,” he said.

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Updated: 6:07 PM CST

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS
Premier Wab Kinew reached out to Minnesota officials in the wake of last week’s shooting that killed 37-year-old mother Renee Good.

Three figures central to police HQ inquiry don’t live in Manitoba, can’t be compelled to testify: commissioner

Dan Lett 5 minute read Preview

Three figures central to police HQ inquiry don’t live in Manitoba, can’t be compelled to testify: commissioner

Dan Lett 5 minute read Updated: 4:50 PM CST

Three key players in the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters scandal may not testify at the upcoming public inquiry because they no longer live in Manitoba and are beyond the commission’s power of subpoena, according to an interim report released Monday from inquiry commissioner Garth Smorang.

The report noted that the inquiry expects to hear from 34 witnesses in total, 11 of whom will be subject-matter experts retained by the inquiry to testify about technical issues, such as forensic accounting, procurement and construction law, and the construction industry.

Smorang said in his report “several” key figures in the corruption scandal have been issued “notices of alleged misconduct” ahead of public hearings.

However, he did note that none of the three recipients of those notices “has indicated that they will voluntarily attend to testify.”

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Updated: 4:50 PM CST

Winnipeg Police Service headquarters (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files)

Military members arrive in Pimicikamak with eye on fixing water plant

Chris Kitching 5 minute read Preview

Military members arrive in Pimicikamak with eye on fixing water plant

Chris Kitching 5 minute read 7:27 PM CST

The first team of Canadian Armed Forces members arrived in Pimicikamak Cree Nation on Monday to help the northern Manitoba community recover from the aftermath of a prolonged power outage.

Seven members from the Kingston, Ont.-based Canadian Forces Joint Operational Support Group include construction engineering, plumbing and heating, and electrical generation systems experts.

“Specifically, this advance team will support the Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Manitoba by assessing repair and sustainment requirements for the water treatment plant, sewage plant, and power generation systems, as well as providing guidance on project management and logistics,” CAF spokesman Lieut. Cammeron Radford said in a statement.

Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias said the crew would first be tasked with assessing one of the community’s water treatment plants, which has been out of commission for two weeks.

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7:27 PM CST

Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias, left, and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. (MKO) Grand Chief Grand Chief Garrison Settee speak to the media during a tour with politicians and media at Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Man., last week. (John Woods / The Canadian Press files)

School offered resources after latest antisemitic incident

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Preview

School offered resources after latest antisemitic incident

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read 7:55 PM CST

The Manitoba Institute to Combat Antisemitism is urging teachers to take advantage of its free services in response to multiple reports of vandalism at a River Heights high school.

Families at Kelvin High School were informed last week that a swastika had been spray-painted on the building at 155 Kingsway.

School administration was alerted Monday that a Jewish teenager at the school had discovered the same hate symbol inside their locker.

“I’d like to see an assembly when something like this happens,” said Belle Jarniewski, who oversees the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada and its new offshoot, the Manitoba Institute to Combat Antisemitism.

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7:55 PM CST

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
A swastika was spray-painted on Kelvin High School last week.

Opinion

Winnipeg and a rush to downtown growth Brent Bellamy 6 minute read Updated: 6:20 AM CST
Finding new partners as the American empire fades Editorial 4 minute read Updated: 9:54 AM CST
When the Loyalists said no to joining the American Revolution Allan Levine 6 minute read 2:00 AM CST

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Developer wants council to reconsider altered plan for apartment near beloved St. Vital park

Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read Preview

Developer wants council to reconsider altered plan for apartment near beloved St. Vital park

Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read 6:17 PM CST

A proposal to replace a planned two-storey housing development with a taller apartment complex near a popular park could soon be rejected for a second time, though the developer is urging city council members to reconsider.

Last Wednesday, the Riel community committee voted to require Progressive Real Estate Group to stick with two-storey townhouses and a two-storey apartment building, with a maximum height of7.9 metres (26 feet) at a site near Henteleff Park in the 1900 block of St. Mary’s Road.

The developer first proposed a four-storey, 13.7-metre-tall (45 feet) apartment building at the site in 2018, which the city rejected at the time.

Coun. Brian Mayes said the shorter height would honour a compromise reached eight years ago.

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6:17 PM CST

Mike Deal / Free Press Files
A community committee voted to require a property developer to stick with two-storey townhouses and a two-storey apartment building, with a maximum height of 7.9 metres (26 feet) at a site near Henteleff Park in south St. Vital.

Jets forward Perfetti finding his game on newly-configured second line

Ken Wiebe 7 minute read Preview

Jets forward Perfetti finding his game on newly-configured second line

Ken Wiebe 7 minute read 5:50 PM CST

To suggest that Cole Perfetti has fully turned the corner might be a slight exaggeration, but the Winnipeg Jets forward is clearly trending upward.

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5:50 PM CST

John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti has been clicking with his second line teammates Jonathan Toews and Gabe Vilardi.

Manitoba, Sask. residents believe everyday financial pressures will intensify in 2026

Aaron Epp 5 minute read Preview

Manitoba, Sask. residents believe everyday financial pressures will intensify in 2026

Aaron Epp 5 minute read 7:52 PM CST

Manitobans are heading into the new year expecting financial challenges.

The latest MNP Consumer Debt Index, released Monday, shows 50 per cent of Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents are within $200 of not being able to pay their bills each month, up seven points from September.

Seven in 10 residents expect the cost of living to get worse and more than half believe the economy overall will worsen this year, according to the survey, which Ipsos conducted on behalf of MNP Ltd. between Nov. 28 and Dec. 1.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents also anticipate rising pressure from interest rates and inflation (53 per cent), unemployment and the job market (46 per cent) and Canada’s relationship with the United States (55 per cent).

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7:52 PM CST

Credit cards are displayed in Montreal, Wednesday, December 12, 2012. Zombie debt will inevitably come back to haunt Canadians because of the country's scourge of consumer indebtedness, say insolvency experts. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Man who stabbed ex-wife to death on Portage Avenue denied full parole

Chris Kitching 4 minute read Preview

Man who stabbed ex-wife to death on Portage Avenue denied full parole

Chris Kitching 4 minute read 3:02 PM CST

A convicted killer who chased and repeatedly stabbed his former wife in front of several people on a Winnipeg street in May 1994 has again been denied full parole.

Bruce Stewner, now 60, was sentenced to life with no chance of parole for 20 years for killing Kelly Lynn Stewner, 23, on Portage Avenue, near Overdale Street, in St. James.

“It is the board’s assessment that you will by re-offending, present an undue risk to society on full parole, and that your release will not contribute to the protection of society by facilitating your reintegration as a law-abiding citizen,” a two-member National Parole Board panel wrote in a Dec. 18 decision.

The panel cited concerns about Stewner’s violations of day parole conditions. He was previously denied full parole in September 2023.

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3:02 PM CST

Winnipeg - Memorial for Kelly Stewner left on boulevard tree on Portage Avenue near the corner of Overdale Street. Kelly was beaten to death there by her husband Bruce Douglas Stewner on May 6 1994. Kevin Rollason story. February 22 1995. JEFF DE BOOY / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Plenty of crashes at St. James intersection, but number not high enough for changes

Kevin Rollason 4 minute read Preview

Plenty of crashes at St. James intersection, but number not high enough for changes

Kevin Rollason 4 minute read 5:50 PM CST

Residents and people working in the area of a St. James intersection where dozens of collisions have occurred in recent years are hoping the city makes safety changes.

There have been 158 collisions at Ness Avenue and Ferry Road since 2021, statistics provided by Manitoba Public Insurance show.

Doug Nachbauer, manager of T-Mac Auto Services, located at the southeast corner of the intersection, said he has seen the aftermath of several collisions there.

“Since September the city has had to re-stand the traffic-light pole seven or eight times,” Nachbauer said Monday.

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5:50 PM CST

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Statistics provided by Manitoba Public Insurance show there have been 158 collisions at the intersection of Ness Avenue and Ferry Road since 2021.

Minnesota and the Twin Cities sue the federal government to stop the immigration crackdown

Rebecca Santana, Mark Vancleave And Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Minnesota and the Twin Cities sue the federal government to stop the immigration crackdown

Rebecca Santana, Mark Vancleave And Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 7:59 PM CST

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota and its two largest cities sued the Trump administration Monday to try to stop an immigration enforcement surge that led to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by a federal officer and evoked outrage and protests across the country.

The state, joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul, said the Department of Homeland Security is violating the First Amendment and other constitutional protections. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to halt the enforcement action or limit the operation.

“This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and it must stop,” state Attorney General Keith Ellison said at a news conference. “These poorly trained, aggressive and armed agents of the federal state have terrorized Minnesota with widespread unlawful conduct.”

Homeland Security is pledging to put more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota and says it has made more than 2,000 arrests since December. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has called the surge its largest enforcement operation ever.

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Updated: 7:59 PM CST

Protesters try to avoid tear gas dispersed by federal agents, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Province unfairly cancelled former PC leadership candidate’s polar bear off-road tour licences, judge rules

Erik Pindera 4 minute read Preview

Province unfairly cancelled former PC leadership candidate’s polar bear off-road tour licences, judge rules

Erik Pindera 4 minute read 2:16 PM CST

A Court of King’s Bench judge has ordered the NDP government to reconsider granting permits to an ecotourism company that has been prevented from offering polar bear sightseeing tours off road outside of Churchill.

On Friday, Justice Shawn Greenberg ruled the province acted improperly when it decided to not renew permits to Lazy Bear Expeditions for the 2025-26 polar bear viewing season that would have allowed the company to operate tundra vehicles off road in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area.

Lazy Bear lost two of its six ecotourism licences early in 2025. Owner Wally Daudrich, who lost his bid to become leader of the Progressive Conservative party last year, has claimed the company lost the licences to appease his competitors. The remaining licences allow Lazy Bear to operate tours in a part of the area that has roads, but fewer polar bears.

Greenberg found the provincial wildlife branch’s decision to rescind the permits was not reasonable.

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2:16 PM CST