Homegrown at the dome: Filipino musical makes its debut

‘Buy Canadian’ takes on new meaning

The “Buy Canadian” push has re-emerged as the federal government rolls out tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of imports from the United States.

Premier Wab Kinew led the Manitoba charge Tuesday, hours after the federal government announced the retaliatory levies that will take effect Sept. 8.

“Whether you look at it as an affordability initiative, or you look at it as a way to support our economy here, buying local always makes sense,” Kinew said at an unrelated press conference. “It makes even more sense right now.”

Mark Carney’s government has responded to new 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the United States on $27.6 billion worth of Canadian products. Trade talks between the countries broke down late Friday.

What’s up: Deep Purple, Sarper Güven, and Taste of Manitoba, Maryland Music, Must Be Nice Indigenous Comedy and Corn and Apple fests

Must Be Nice Indigenous Comedy FestivalDevil May Care Brewing Company, 155-A Fort St.Friday & Saturday, 7 p.m.Tickets $23 at EventbriteTreaty 1 comedians Jeff Gobeil and Kaitlynn Brightnose have had big, busy summers.

Gobeil, a member of Poplar River First Nation, is fresh off performing The Crown Witness Is a Stand-Up Comedian? at this year’s Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival. The hour-long solo show, which earned four stars from the Free Press, details how he reported his childhood sexual abuser to police and served as the Crown witness during the man’s trial, “with Gobeil striking a breathtaking balance between his harrowing life story and the comedic observations that have resulted,” according to our review.

He and Brightnose, who grew up between Pukatawagan and Cranberry Portage and is a regular at the Bannock Bums showcases at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, also performed at the Indigenous Comedy Showcase before headliner Jim Gaffigan’s set at the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival in July, along with fellow comedian Noah Robinson.

On Friday, they’ll headline the first night of Must Be Nice Indigenous Comedy Festival, a two-night showcase featuring Indigenous comedians from across Treaty territories. Robinson will also perform at the fest, along with a slate of other comics including Stephan Meechas, Sherry McKay, Issa Kixen and others. Single-night and weekend passes are available at Eventbrite.

Bombers offensive co-ordinator Condell takes accountability for loss to Elks

Tommy Condell isn’t about to throw his hands up in frustration. That’s simply not the way the Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive co-ordinator is wired.

And while the state of the offence remains a source of consternation for many in the Bombers fan base, Condell continues to plug away at ensuring steps will be taken to raise the efficiency levels down the stretch.

The club appeared to have taken a significant step forward in that category last Friday, jumping out to a 16-0 lead in the second quarter that became a 10-point cushion at the half after the Edmonton Elks scored a late major.

Then came a head-scratching third quarter that featured a pair of two-and-outs for the visitors at Commonwealth Stadium in what eventually became a 22-19 defeat.

Thirteen accused in gun, drug trafficking network in rural Manitoba

RCMP and Winkler police have arrested more than a dozen people allegedly connected to a drug-and-gun trafficking network that operated in rural Manitoba.

The joint investigation began in December 2024, when officers from the Winkler Police Service asked the Mounties for help after learning kilograms of cocaine were being imported to a Winkler-area truck repair business, said RCMP Supt. Jeff Asmundson, who oversees the force’s Manitoba integrated law enforcement team.

Mounties and Winkler police gathered evidence for 19 months and expanded the probe, dubbed Project Dolor, as investigators learned other types of illicit substances and firearms were being trafficked by the network in a number of southern Manitoba communities, said Asmundson, whose team investigates serious and organized crime.

“It started as a cocaine trafficking investigation, and obviously, as we move along in a project or a file, evidence is gathered and an opportunity arose and we wanted to ensure public safety,” he told reporters Tuesday. “We were able to secure some firearms.”

Fully protecting Transit drivers overdue

The union representing Winnipeg Transit drivers declared last week — again — that the service’s buses need to be outfitted with full safety shields, after yet another incident involving an assault on a partially protected transit operator.