Reel Pride film fest set to celebrate 35 years

Acquisition of former residential school grounds will help educate future generations: premier

Premier Wab Kinew says a former Brandon-area campground acquired by the province will help educate future generations about the horrors of residential schools.

“We live in an era where people are trying to deny what happened in residential schools,” Kinew said during a Tuesday afternoon visit to Turtle Crossing Campground, near the former Brandon Indian Residential School. “It’s an important part of our national history, and keeping that truth alive.”

Kinew officially announced the province’s plan Tuesday, in partnership with the City of Brandon, to acquire and protect the site where the bodies of more than 50 Indigenous children are located.

The premier said the property has “huge national significance” for education about residential school history because it is one of the “most documented” in the country. He carried photographs, and some 20th century newspaper clippings from the Brandon Sun around the site Tuesday.

What’s open, what’s closed, what’s up in Winnipeg on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Sept. 30, 2026

The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, or Orange Shirt Day, as it's known in Manitoba, happens Sept. 30 with many commemorative community events scheduled.

Khan cites infighting, quits as Tory leader

Manitoba’s Leader of the Opposition is stepping down.

Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan announced late Monday afternoon he is quitting caucus and will sit in the legislature as an independent MLA, effective today.

He cited internal party fighting for his decision.

The former Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive lineman survived a caucus confidence vote Friday. He said there were 13 votes for him to remain and six against, with one person absent.

Expert urges food, drink makers to look to foreign markets

Canada’s slowing population growth could restrict business expansion, a top economist for Farm Credit Canada warned Manitoba manufacturers.

Craig Johnston, the federal Crown corporation’s chief economist, addressed Prairie businesses at Farm Credit Canada’s Food and Beverage Summit Tuesday.

“There could be some modest growth in Canadian consumption of food and beverage,” Johnston said, relaying population numbers inside a Victoria Inn Hotel conference room.

Still, per-person spending on food is “stagnant, if not somewhat rising,” Johnson later told reporters.

Jets pick up netminder as relatively new 23-man roster announced

Let’s get the caveats out of the way: Nothing is set in stone, nor written in permanent ink, and what you see right now could change in the blink of an eye.

With that being said, allow us to introduce you to the 2026-27 Winnipeg Jets — where change is very much in the air.

The 23-man roster submitted to the NHL offices by Monday’s 4 p.m. deadline includes seven players who were not on the team at this time last year. In fact, there could be as many as 10 new faces in the opening-night lineup on Friday against Boston when you factor in three regulars didn’t start the 2025-26 campaign due to injury.

That’s a lot of turnover, which isn’t surprising for a team that finished 26th overall in the standings and was — to most fans and pundits — too old and too slow.

Province to acquire campground near former residential school

A burial site for dozens of children who died while attending the Brandon Indian Residential School will be acquired by the province, the Free Press has learned.

Premier Wab Kinew will announce the province’s plan to protect Turtle Crossing Campground at a news conference in Brandon Wednesday to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The move is in partnership with the City of Brandon.

The graves of at least 56 children are located at the campground, the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation has said, pointing to a geophysical study conducted by an archaeology firm in 2018.

There have been longstanding concerns from Indigenous leaders and community members that people were camping on the resting place of children victimized by colonialism.