Bruce LaBruce, Kent Monkman win Governor General’s Awards in visual and media arts

Bombers look to lock in to post-season chase after dropping game to Argos

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers let a major opportunity slip through their fingers, and they know it.

“F—- yeah. That game was ours,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson on Friday’s 30-28 loss at home to the Toronto Argonauts.

It was — and then they gave it away in the final five minutes.

The Bombers came out firing, jumping out to a 21-7 lead. They had a chance to close out the contest while leading 28-27 with two minutes remaining, but couldn’t do it. Quarterback Dru Brown was sacked by linebacker Adarius Pickett, forcing the Bombers to punt, and the Argos took full advantage.

Province invests $3.8M in culinary arts training facility for francophone high school students

A new dedicated culinary arts training facility will give francophone high school students a place to learn the trade in French.

New tour firm seeks to display ‘hidden gem’

Desiree Rantala has serious Manitoba bona fides.

The 34-year-old grew up in two northern First Nations communities and has lived in Gimli and Dauphin. She’s worked in marketing roles at the Manitoba Museum, Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone and Travel Manitoba, and she’s travelled to New York and Vancouver to promote the province.

Now, Rantala has launched a tour company called Toba Tripper.

“We’re a hidden gem that has so much to offer,” the Winnipeg resident said. “We have so much to see and I really hope that people leave my tours appreciating the beauty of Manitoba a little bit more.”

Canada resorting to its tried and true playbook

In 1846, Britain faced an emergency influenced by the Irish famine, so leaders repealed the country’s “Corn Laws” and restrictions on imported food and grain, transitioning to a system of free trade.

This created a crisis in the then Province of Canada, which had relied on British “preferential” status to prop up its agricultural and resource industries.

As a result, Canada looked south for new markets and eventually negotiated a free trade agreement with the United States.

This required land to be acquired and converted for industrial use quickly, so Canada quickly dispatched Commissioner William Robinson to negotiate with Indigenous communities along Lake Huron and Lake Superior for land.

What’s open, what’s closed, what’s up in Winnipeg on National Day of 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.

Wab Kinew as ‘communicator in chief’

Premier Wab Kinew and his party have been riding high in the polls longer than normal for a government one year or less away from its first re-election contest. One reason is his ubiquitous, dominating communications presence as NDP leader and premier.

The argument here is that Kinew has supplemented his prerogatives as premier and party leader (such as appointing cabinet ministers and approving party nominations) with the skilful use of communications to advance his policy agenda, boost his personal popularity and maintain the competitive advantage of his party over the opposition Progressive Conservatives.

Communications has always been a significant part of politics and policy making. However, in the contemporary political and media environments, communications considerations have moved from the background to the foreground of decision-making by political parties, including when they are performing in the role of government. Campaigning and governing now overlap in what has been described as a permanent election campaign.

Political parties use communications strategies for several purposes: to establish an image of the leader which makes a positive emotional connection with voters; to promote a coherent message and to keep party members on message; and to gain favourable media coverage for its policies and other actions on almost a daily basis.