Don’t tighten your belt just yet

Moving rail lines outside city would make Winnipeg ‘major transportation hub’

After decades of calls to move rail traffic to the outskirts of Winnipeg, a plan that would benefit residents, railways and taxpayers is now on track, says the former Winnipegger leading the way.

A rail line bypass south of the city, using Crown-owned land and the Manitoba Hydro corridor, would take 20 years to complete, remove 120 railway crossings that are a safety risk and free up about 250 acres of Winnipeg land over time for development, Lloyd Axworthy said Wednesday.

“The visions that we have have to be implemented,” Axworthy said at a news conference announcing the launch of a 90-day feasibility study to move freight rail traffic out of Winnipeg’s urban core along Manitoba Hydro’s southern transmission corridor, connecting east to west along the Perimeter Highway.

The former federal transport minister and Manitoba MP was tasked by Premier Wab Kinew in October 2024 to lead a two-year rail relocation feasibility study.

Making the right move on rail lines

It’s a familiar sound in Winnipeg. It’s the 3 a.m. distant and lonesome train horn, the sound of a train crew working through the night hours, the horn giving its warning at level crossings. Some Winnipeggers hear far more: when the night is still enough, they can hear the rhythmic “tap-tap, tap-tap” of rail wheels on the tracks as long trains thread through the city.

A message to Mark: Don’t. Back. Down.

When is a leak really a trial balloon? While Mark Carney currently enjoys huge favourability in Canada, there are nine federal byelections pending. If he stumbles on his pledge of “Elbows up’ against the U.S., votes could go against the Liberals; millions of Canadians have utterly lost patience with Trump’s madness — and with Carney appearing to pander to it.

Don’t tighten your belt just yet

The inaugural Fried Chicken Festival (Jan. 21-28) invited fans of deep-fried goodness to 15 restaurants around Winnipeg to chow down on chicken and then vote for their favourite. The Free Press’s Alison Gillmor loved the simple hot-sauce-drizzled version from chef Erik Ursini at the Good Will’s Have a Nice Day, but Winnipeggers turned out in droves to cast their online votes for the Oak & Grain at the Hilton Winnipeg Airport Suites, where chef Kelly Cattani offered up toasted sliders stuffed with pickled cucumber salad, mayo, lettuce and buttermilk fried chicken.

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Still recovering from all that chicken? Don’t tighten your belt yet: it’s time for La Poutine Week (Feb. 1-7), where more than 80 Winnipeg restaurants will trot out their takes on the beloved French-Canadian comfort food, brought to you by the duo behind the insanely popular Le Burger Week.

The list of poutines on offer ranges from classic curds with amped-up sauces to decidedly non-traditional takes (Green Ninja’s version features spicy Asian pork and kimchi; Rossmere Country Club’s includes Brie, cranberry-apple gravy, pork rinds and apple sticks).

Signs the Carney approach is working

It was, if nothing else, a glowing review in trying times.

Matt Winkler, the editor in chief emeritus of Bloomberg News, spoke last week on Bloomberg Business News Daily about a recent Bloomberg analysis of the performance of the Canadian economy, and this country as a target for investment

“This is one of the greatest periods for overseas investment in Canada that we’ve seen in the century, and it may be unprecedented, because we have to wait for the rest of the year. … Money is pouring into Canada like we have not seen from everywhere. Stocks and bonds are the obvious beneficiaries,” Winkler said. He argued that Canada is both liked and seen as reasonable.

“The point is… Canada since Mark Carney became prime minister in 2025, has outperformed everyone in America and also the Eurozone and anywhere in the world. The 10 largest stock markets in the world, Canada appreciated the most, more than 40 per cent. … Its bond market is also doing great, partially because the inflation rate in Canada, unlike the Eurozone or America, is actually trending lower, and is outperforming both the Eurozone and the U.S.”

Icy relationship with U.S. beginning to thaw at border, data shows; American visits to Manitoba hit five-year high

As Canadians begin to lower their elbows and start to cross the U.S. border again, Americans are coming to Manitoba in numbers not seen in years.