Alberta reports slight drop in critically ill COVID-19 patients in hospitals

The good, bad and record setting performance in Bombers loss to Elks

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ 22-19 defeat at the hands of the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium in Alberta on Friday was fitting for all the wrong reasons.

The Bombers looked reinvigorated as they jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first half. Then some bad habits reared their ugly head, as the Elks roared back with 19 straight points before kicker Vincent Blanchard walked it off with a 40-yard field goal.

A night that began with so much promise left many fans to wonder what the ceiling actually is for this team in 2026.

On offence, Zach Collaros completed 19 of 30 passes for 219 yards, one touchdown and an interception; Brady Oliveira amassed 118 yards on 16 carries and added a pair of catches for 11 yards; and Nic Demski secured five grabs for 80 yards.

Senior’s family slams bedbug reaction

The family of a senior who left his Manitoba Housing apartment after two years of bedbug infestations is accusing the provincial body of being ineffectual and irresponsible in its treatment of the persistent pests.

The senior had lived at the Columbus Courts building at 253 Edgeland Blvd., since 2011, but when he began getting severe skin rashes all over his body about two years ago, his son began to worry.

They found out the 14-storey building was being sprayed for bedbugs after an infestation had impacted several units. After multiple rounds of pesticide treatments, the problem has not subsided, the son told the Free Press.

“They come in, they spray pesticides and then they leave. And it’s been completely ineffectual,” he said. “My dad keeps seeing the bedbugs even the day after the treatments and continuously, they’ve just gotten worse and worse.”

Options for selling U.S. alcohol in Canada

U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to impose tariffs of 50 per cent by Aug. 19 on over 500 Canadian items worth $28 billion. This would threaten 56,000 Canadian jobs and five per cent of our exports.

Conservatives call on government to release U.S. trade offer details

OTTAWA - Federal conservatives are calling on the government to release the full details of the trade offer from the United States that Canada rejected this week.

In a letter to Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Canada-U.S. relations critic Shuvaloy Majumdar said while his party supports the government's decision to reject the deal, Parliament is in the dark on what was on the table.

"If there was a draft text of any agreement that both governments have seen, please release it. The U.S. administration has seen it. Your government has seen it. Canadians deserve to see it," Majumdar wrote.

"Even after addressing Canadians and the media, the public and Members of Parliament still remain in the dark on your government's demands in negotiations with the Trump administration.

Community rallies around family devastated by fire

Dennis Lafreniere and his wife didn’t expect to celebrate 27 years of marriage Thursday in a Selkirk hotel room while reeling from a recent house fire.

The couple and their two daughters lost their home last Sunday in a raging fire that left nothing behind, but overwhelming support from multiple communities has kept them afloat.

“It’s devastating when you don’t have any clothes, any medication, all of that stuff, and it’s just so overwhelming the next morning. It’s just nasty,” Lafreniere said.

Investigators suspect the fire was caused by a fridge, freezer and battery charger that were all plugged into the same electrical line that got overheated. The house, located on Highway 59 between Selkirk and Libau, is a farmhouse built in 1943, and investigators think worn-out electrical lines also contributed to the fire, said Lafreniere.

Five Things: PM Carney explains why Canada left the U.S. negotiating table

OTTAWA - Canada is preparing to hit the U.S. with dollar-for-dollar tariffs in response to new 50 per cent duties on $28 billion worth of Canadian products that took effect when talks between the two nations collapsed as negotiations neared the finish line. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney was quiet publicly during the final days of negotiations, but now has now explained his rationale for telling the Canadian negotiating team, led by Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief negotiator Janice Charette, to leave the table.

Restrictions on further trade deals

"The U.S. Introduced at the last hours, in the last hours, efforts to restrict our ability to have other trade deals. You heard me say a moment ago, what we've accomplished in the past year, 20 new deals, economic and security partnerships, the prospect of doubling our market access because we believe in free trade. We're the partner of choice in many respects for countries around the world and the Americans wanted to restrict that. They had language that what they wanted to restrict that, unacceptable," Carney said during a press conference on Parliament Hill.