Cafe Carlo, Pizzeria Gusto earn national recognition

The good, bad and record setting performance in Bombers loss to Elks

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ 22-19 defeat at the hands of the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium in Alberta on Friday was fitting for all the wrong reasons.

The Bombers looked reinvigorated as they jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first half. Then some bad habits reared their ugly head, as the Elks roared back with 19 straight points before kicker Vincent Blanchard walked it off with a 40-yard field goal.

A night that began with so much promise left many fans to wonder what the ceiling actually is for this team in 2026.

On offence, Zach Collaros completed 19 of 30 passes for 219 yards, one touchdown and an interception; Brady Oliveira amassed 118 yards on 16 carries and added a pair of catches for 11 yards; and Nic Demski secured five grabs for 80 yards.

Canada vows dollar-for-dollar tariff retaliation, suspends trade talks with U.S.

OTTAWA - A last-ditch effort to reach a new trade deal before a midnight tariff deadline failed Friday, as Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended talks with the United States and summoned his negotiators back to Ottawa.

The decision meant new 50 per cent tariffs on billions of dollars in Canadian exports to the U.S. took effect at 12:01 a.m., and Carney vowed Canada would retaliate with equal measures of its own.

"In recent weeks, we made important progress toward improving Canada's position as having the best deal in the world with the U.S.," Carney said in a statement just before Trump's tariff deadline.

"However, that progress has not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians."

Free Press literary editor picks noteworthy Canadian fiction and non-fiction titles to watch for this fall

For many book lovers, summer means relaxing at the beach, in the backyard or at the cottage with fun, warm-weather page-turners — easy-going romance novels, gripping thrillers or even a dishy biography.

And some may long for the summer months to slow down, fall books season always offers up some of the most compelling reads for bookworms.

Here are 10 works of fiction and 10 non-fiction titles from Canadian authors slated to be published in the coming months — from Olympians to separatists, draft dodgers, plutocrats, prime ministers, bird-men and beyond, the characters in these forthcoming titles run the gamut.

FICTIONEliza Sunshine

Kinew’s message for PM: don’t back down

Let it be known that when Canada’s provinces and alcohol industries needed a defender, Canada’s first First Nations provincial premier was their greatest warrior.

This is, admittedly, a provocative opening line — referencing historical and cultural intersections and relying on a stereotype or two.

It’s impossible, however, not to see how important the nearly Canada-wide provincial-led ban on the sale of U.S. alcohol is to Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.

It’s due to his stand on national matters like these that he’s become very popular — according to polls, the most popular premier in Canada — and has been empowered to take on the mantle of one of the captains of “Team Canada” on economic, political and domestic issues.

Five Things: PM Carney explains why Canada left the U.S. negotiating table

OTTAWA - Canada is preparing to hit the U.S. with dollar-for-dollar tariffs in response to new 50 per cent duties on $28 billion worth of Canadian products that took effect when talks between the two nations collapsed as negotiations neared the finish line. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney was quiet publicly during the final days of negotiations, but now has now explained his rationale for telling the Canadian negotiating team, led by Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief negotiator Janice Charette, to leave the table.

Restrictions on further trade deals

"The U.S. Introduced at the last hours, in the last hours, efforts to restrict our ability to have other trade deals. You heard me say a moment ago, what we've accomplished in the past year, 20 new deals, economic and security partnerships, the prospect of doubling our market access because we believe in free trade. We're the partner of choice in many respects for countries around the world and the Americans wanted to restrict that. They had language that what they wanted to restrict that, unacceptable," Carney said during a press conference on Parliament Hill.

Provincial teacher watchdog releases names, details in three disciplinary matters

An Interlake teacher with a history of “intimidating” outbursts has been ordered to participate in counselling and study anger-management strategies after he made a child cry.