News briefs for Monday, June 22, 2026

Firefighters battle blaze at vacant Nairn home

8:21 PM

There were no injuries reported after crews put out a fire at a vacant home on Nairn Avenue Monday.

At roughly 3:43 p.m. firefighters were called to the 300 block of Nairn Avenue for reports of a one-in-a-half storey home on fire, said a Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service news release. 

When firefighters arrived, they found smoke and fire coming from the house and began an interior attack, the WFPS said. However, heavy heat and smoke forced crews to leave the building and fight the blaze from outside. 

After extinguishing a part of the fire, crews were able to re-enter the home to continue working the fire, said the WFPS. It was under control in under an hour.

No occupants were found inside the home, which also caught fire in April 2024, and a damage estimate was not available.

The fire remains under investigation.

Expansion coming to CFB 17 Wing Winnipeg

7:17 PM

An expansion to the Canadian Forces Base 17 Wing Winnipeg could bring up to 1,400 jobs to the city. 

Premier Wab Kinew announced the expansion and said it will bolster national defence, strengthen strategic infrastructure and benefit the local economy, said a provincial news release Monday. 

A partnership between the province and the federal government, Kinew called the expansion a “nation-building project.” 

The province said the expansion will receive a high-priority designation under Manitoba’s hydro regulations, and consists of critical upgrades and new developments at the CFB, including the design and construction of a new Department of National Defence substation. 

Once fully operational, the expansion is expected to result in further investment at the base spurring the new jobs, said the release.

Planning for the project is currently underway. 

Woman dies in bird-involved crash in RM of Westlake-Gladstone

4:11 PM

A 71-year-old woman was killed after a driver hit a bird on Highway 50 Monday morning.

Around 7:40 a.m. Portage la Prairie RCMP received a report of a single-vehicle collision in the RM of Westlake-Gladstone. Officers and emergency responders found an SUV in the ditch off the highway.

RCMP learned the vehicle had left Duck Bay and was headed south towards Portage la Prairie when the driver, a 76-year-old man, struck a bird, swerved and hit the ditch. The driver was not injured.

The woman, who was sitting in the back seat, died at the scene. The investigation is ongoing.

Ammonia leak in St. Matthews

3:35 PM

Workers at several St. Matthews-area businesses were evacuated after an ammonia leak Monday morning.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews were called shortly after 10 a.m. about a suspected leak at a building on the 200 block of Burnell Street, a city news release stated.

Crews detected elevated levels of ammonia inside a building and ordered people inside several neighbouring properties to evacuate as a precaution.

A WFPS hazardous materials team determined no one was inside the building.

The leak was stopped and the building was ventilated to remove the remaining ammonia.

No injuries were reported and those evacuated were permitted to return.

New clinic in The Pas named for Amanda Lathlin

3:24 PM

A new primary health clinic in Manitoba’s north will be named in honour of former MLA for the Pas-Kameesak Amanda Lathlin. 

She passed away on March 21 at the age of 49.

The clinic, currently in the design phase, is set to cost between $50 to $60 million. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said it will address health needs in the north while honouring Lathlin’s legacy as a fierce advocate and the first Indigenous woman elected to the Manitoba Legislature. 

Making the announcement in The Pas the Minister was joined by Premier Wab Kinew, the community’s Mayor Andre Murphy and Lathlin’s daughter Elyse Lathlin, who is now running to fill her mother’s legislative seat. 

The new clinic is set to open by 2030 and the government hopes it becomes a health hub in the north.

Machete attack sends man to hospital

2:56 PM

A man was sent to hospital after he was attacked by two men who hit him over the head with a machete, police said.

A man was walking in Sapotaweyak Cree Nation, northeast of Swan River, on Friday shortly before 2 a.m., when two men pulled up on an ATV, RCMP said in a Monday news release.

Police said one of the men jumped off the ATV and struck the victim in the head with a machete. While the two were wrestling, the second suspect attempted to run the victim over.

The man was able to escape and ran to safety. He later went to hospital for treatment.

Both suspects, who knew the victim, were arrested at their respective residences. A machete was recovered, police said.

Two 19-year-old men face aggravated assault charges.

Both remain in custody.

One dead in Selkirk house fire

2:16 PM

A Saturday house fire in Selkirk claimed the life of a 29-year-old woman.

Crews were sent to a home on Clandeboye Avenue at 10:15 p.m. and observed flames and heavy smoke coming from the home, an RCMP news release Monday said.

Paramedics tried to resuscitate a woman found inside the home. She was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after.

Selkirk RCMP and the Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner are investigating but it’s believed the fire was accidental.

Man, 51, drowned during canoe race: RCMP

11:56 AM

RCMP are investigating a drowning that happened during a canoe race on Pukatawagan Lake in northern Manitoba on Saturday.

A 51-year-old man, who was wearing a life jacket, was quickly pulled from the water after falling in, police said.

He was taken to the Pukatawagan/Mathias Colomb Cree Nation nursing station, where he was later pronounced dead.

Fatal apartment fire on Ross Avenue deemed accidental by city police

11:54 AM

A fatal apartment fire earlier this month that claimed the life of a 53-year-old man has been ruled accidental, according to Winnipeg police.

Emergency crews were called to an apartment building in the 400 block of Ross Avenue in Winnipeg’s Centennial neighbourhood on June 5. Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews responded shortly before 1:30 p.m. and extinguished the fire before police arrived just before 2 p.m.

Following the blaze, a search of the building led to the discovery of the man’s body inside his suite. Other residents were able to evacuate safely and were not injured.

The death marks the 13th fire-related fatality in Winnipeg this year.

One dead after crash in RM of Oakview

9:36 AM

A man has died and another was hospitalized after a vehicle rolled into a ditch in the Rural Municipality of Oakview Saturday afternoon.

The car, headed westbound on Highway 24 at around 4:35 p.m., hit the gravel shoulder and over-corrected, crossing into both lanes before rolling into the ditch.

A 35-year-old man found inside the vehicle died at the scene. A 39-year-old man, who was ejected from the vehicle, was taken to hospital in Winnipeg with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The RCMP are investigating the collision.