Winnipeg, source d’inspiration pour la philanthropie canadienne

Dirigé par le Franco-Manitobain d’origine Jean-Marc Mangin, l’organisme Fondations philanthropiques du Canada (FPC) sera à Winnipeg du 23 au 25 septembre prochains pour sa conférence nationale, organisée tous les deux ans. Une première pour FPC, et un retour au bercail attendu pour son président-directeur général.

Pour la première fois depuis 26 ans que l’organisme existe, FPC a choisi le Manitoba pour sa grande conférence nationale de 2026. “On a été dans plusieurs gros centres urbains du Canada, notamment Ottawa, Montréal, Toronto, Vancouver ou encore Calgary, mais ce sera notre première fois à Winnipeg,” se réjouit le PDG de FPC, Jean-Marc Mangin, lui-même originaire de Saint-Boniface.

Ce n’est toutefois pas la nostalgie de l’enfance qui a fait pencher la balance en faveur du Manitoba, mais plutôt un vent de changement observé par bon nombre dans la capitale manitobaine.

“Nous ne sommes pas les seuls dans le secteur caritatif à choisir Winnipeg,” constate Jean-Marc Mangin. “Plusieurs organismes y tiennent leurs conférences nationales cette année ou la suivante. Et ça, ça dit quelque chose sur ce qui se passe au Manitoba : c’est très actif, il y a beaucoup d’innovation sociale qui prend place.”

Former Winnipeg Jet doing his part for future of funded deaf athletes

Jim Kyte defied the odds to have the hockey career that he did.

The hard-nosed defenceman from Ottawa made history by becoming the first legally deaf NHL player when the Winnipeg Jets drafted him 12th overall in 1982.

“Right now, I’m the only one in history to play in the NHL, but I’d like to be able to say I am the first player — which would imply that there would be a second player, and hopefully a third, fourth, fifth,” Kyte recently told the Free Press.

Between 1982 and 1996, he suited up in 598 career NHL games, including 399 as a member of the 1.0 Jets.

TV review: locally shot American Hostage smooths over tricky tonal shifts

The first episode of the eight-part series American Hostage is as fiercely compelling an opener as one gets in the realm of streaming shows.

Former Bombers linebacker Gauthier enjoying career as electrician

Most professional football players don’t ride off into the sunset on their own terms.

Shayne Gauthier was well aware of that, but it didn’t make it sting any less when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers informed the veteran linebacker that they weren’t bringing him back for 2026.

“I was really hoping to play one more (season) because it would have been my 10th season, so, I’d say it didn’t really end the way I wanted,” Gauthier recently told the Free Press.

“It left a little sour taste in my mouth, but that’s part of pro sports. If everybody got the ending that they wanted, then it wouldn’t really work.”

What’s up: Carleton/Sinclair launch, Mitchell Fenton, country music, Esteban Seunarine, art of the sacred

Sean Carleton/Niigaan Sinclair book launchMcNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Ave.Tonight, 7 p.m.FreeA new book exploring the dialogue surrounding the Indigenous experience in residential schools, and those who downplay or try to discredit the findings, launches at 7 p.m. tonight at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park.

Truth Before Reconciliation: Confronting Residential School Denialism was edited by University of Manitoba professors Sean Carleton and Niigaan Sinclair (who is also a Free Press columnist), and published earlier this month by University of Manitoba Press. The pair, as well as a range of contributors, tackle the narratives behind and consequences of residential school denialism in Canada.

Sinclair and Carleton will be joined at the launch by contributors to the book, as well as by Red Pheasant Cree Nation author (and fellow contributor) Michelle Good, who penned the award-winning novel Five Little Indians and the non-fiction book Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada. Good’s latest is the novel Eliza Sunshine, which was released on Aug. 18.

The launch will be hosted by Shelagh Rogers. The event will be streamed on McNally Robinson’s YouTube channel.

Sean Burns and company head to Sidestage to celebrate album

Like so many country musicians before him, local troubadour Sean Burns just can’t wait to get on the road again, playing to listeners far and wide.

But for now, hot off 10 dates out west, Burns and his band Lost Country will celebrate the official release of the group’s latest record, Better Off in Time & Other Songs for the Dance Floor, with a gig at Sidestage Friday.

“I like to work with the band as much as I can,” Burns says. “There aren’t many bands that play the kind of country music we play. It’s the most rewarding gig.”

Burns, who sings and plays upright bass, tic-tac and acoustic guitars on the new record, laid down the tracks last October at Winnipeg’s No Fun Club, mostly live off the floor with Lost Country.

Lauded Manitoba author chronicled life in the Interlake

Longtime Manitoba author, editor and professor David Arnason died on Monday at age 86.

Jets mailbag: storylines to watch as countdown to 16th season begins

There’s a chill in the air, which must mean hockey is right around the corner.

Sure enough, the Winnipeg Jets open training camp this week, full of excitement and hope for the upcoming campaign.

However, there are a few other emotions surrounding the club right now, which were evident when we opened up the monthly Free Press mailbag. Specifically when it comes to a certain goaltender who isn’t expected to show his face  while waiting news on a trade he’s demanded.

Among them: Angst. Apathy. Anger.

Putting together annual fashion show takes many hard-working hands

A frenzy of activity is taking place behind the closed doors of WAG-Qaumajuq on Monday. It’s the day before Crafted on the Catwalk, the gallery’s annual fashion and design show, and the clock is ticking.

There’s less than 30 hours before the big event and it’s all hands on deck.

A steady stream of people walk in and out of the Memorial Boulevard entrance towards the main hall, which glows in soft hues as technicians test out lighting equipment.

The ground floor is teeming with people lugging chairs and pushing trolleys. A stream of white material unravelling from its roll prompts a shouted “OK to step on this?” and receives an equally loud ‘No!” in reply, voices raised above the metallic buzz of a drill as staff from a local production company put together seats.

Storied photojournalist inducted into Media Roll of Honour

If you’re a longtime hockey fan from around these parts, chances are you’ve seen the photo.

It’s an iconic snapshot of Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg carrying the Avco Cup together on the ice after helping the Winnipeg Jets win the World Hockey Association’s top prize in 1978.

The person behind the camera was the late, great Jon Thordarson, who was inducted into the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association’s Media Roll of Honour on Tuesday inside the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

And while they say every picture tells a story, there’s also a darn good story about what happened after Thordarson hit the shutter button.

Summer success sends Brezden to the Black Sea

Breken Brezden got off to a flying start as a new figure skating season dawned in August making the Manitoban one to watch, once again, among the sport’s elite in Canada.

The Dauphin athlete pocketed a silver medal in Montreal, then notched a win in Waterloo, outscoring a handful of Canada’s higher ranked women along the way.

In Montreal, Brezden, 20, topped the standings in the free skate portion of the competition and, with a total score of 171.03, exceeded the 166 benchmark Skate Canada set for international assignments.

“I’m quite happy with how my summer competitions went,” said Brezden, who trains in Hamilton, Ont.

Winnipeg venues saying no to AI-made advertisements

Although the days when telephone poles and notice boards across the city were thick with gig posters, either slopped up with wheat paste or wrapped tight with packing tape, are behind us, the art of making an appealing visual ad for live music events is still a vital part of the local creative scene.

However, a widespread backlash against a new kind of slop — the use of generative AI images — has been building, especially among creatives when it comes to promoting live music.

“Live music is and always has been a DIY type of scene, especially locally,” says Evan Simpson, who has been working as a graphic designer for nearly a decade.

“For years people have been making their own flyers, or if they have the budget, hiring a designer or artist to come up with some artwork for their flyers. It’s a whole ecosystem, a scene supporting itself. If you take away the visual side of it, the spark, individuality and uniqueness of each gig poster is lost. What a sad world it would be if all art were made by AI.”

Bombers bring A-game in avenging Labour Day loss

This season hasn’t been overly pretty at times for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. But if they’ve proven anything over their last four games, including Saturday’s 19-6 Banjo Bowl victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, it’s that they’re capable of beating the CFL’s best when they come to play.

La facture grimpe mais Ottawa répond présent

‘Préserver ce lieu, ce n’est pas seulement préserver un bâtiment. C’est préserver notre mémoire. C’est transmettre notre histoire.” C’est sur ces mots que Ginette Lavack, députée fédérale de Saint-Boniface-Saint-Vital a annoncé un nouvel investissement fédéral de 400 000 $ au nom du ministre Marc Miller pour le Musée de Saint-Boniface.

Un beau cadeau d’anniversaire pour les 175 ans de l’édifice abritant le musée. Désigné lieu historique national par le gouvernement du Canada en 1958, celui-ci est le plus vieux bâtiment de Winnipeg et, selon le musée, la plus grande structure en rondins de chêne d’Amérique du Nord. Construit entre 1846 et 1851, il était à l’origine le couvent des Sœurs Grises, arrivées à Saint-Boniface depuis le Québec en 1844.

“Depuis 1851, cet édifice a connu plusieurs vies. Il a été un couvent, un hôpital et une école. Il a accueilli, protégé, soigné et enseigné. Il témoigne de l’histoire complexe de Saint-Boniface, de la nation Métisse de la rivière Rouge et de la francophonie,” énumère la députée fédérale, également secrétaire parlementaire de la ministre des Services aux Autochtones.

Un héritage historique et culturel également souligné par Robert Loiselle, député provincial de Saint-Boniface, qui évoque un bâtiment issu d’une époque où une grande partie de la population du Manitoba était francophone. Il a d’ailleurs tenu à rappeler le lien particulier qu’il entretient avec le site : “Sur une touche personnelle, c’est le 4 juin 1892 qu’une nouveau-née fut trouvée dans un petit panier sur le perron des Sœurs Grises : Joséphine Perron, nommée par les Sœurs Grises. Connue sous le nom de Joséphine Payette, mon arrière-grand-mère fut rapidement adoptée par sa famille Payette le lendemain.”

American takes men’s senior title, Manitoban Fanning finishes third

Todd Fanning did everything he could. The decorated local golfer knew he would need to go low to have a chance at becoming the first Manitoban to win the Canadian men’s senior national championship on Friday, and while he held up his end of the bargain, in the end it was not to be.