Ontario to spend $750 million on STEM programs at universities, colleges

Ontario to spend $750 million on STEM programs at universities, colleges

TORONTO - Ontario says it will invest $750 million to boost funding for science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs at colleges and universities across the province.

Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn says the funding will be used to fund 20,500 STEM spots per year.

Quinn says the investment in students will help create a more resilient economy, which has been hurting recently with U.S. President Donald Trump's escalating trade war.

Colleges and universities have struggled financially for years under Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative government, which froze tuition for domestic students, and more recently due to the federal government's cap on study permits for international students.

Rare and tough to notice, sarcomas may lurk in the body

Last summer, Michelle Finley was going about a normal day.

She had just dropped her car off at a garage and was walking back to her office building downtown when, suddenly, she was stopped in her tracks by a searing cramp on the bottom of her right foot.

“It was so painful it took my breath away,” says Finley, now 52. “I stopped and held on to the side of a building for a second — like, it was bringing tears to my eyes.”

Finley thought she had a really bad case of plantar fasciitis. Nine months later she would lose her foot to sarcoma.

Heavy rain, wind sweep across Manitoba as tornado takes out barn near Elkhorn

Kelvin Siemens hoped he was dreaming when a tornado touched down near his home Sunday evening.

When he woke up the next morning, the southwestern Manitoba farmer confirmed it was no dream, as his barn and hay shed were toppled and a pile of rubble was left behind.

“This kind of devastation can really test your constitution,” Siemens, 65, told the Free Press from his farm just south of Kola, a small community in the Rural Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth.

The tornado was reported near Elkhorn, about 105 kilometres west of Brandon, at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday. A second tornado touched down near Maryfield, Sask., located southwest of Elkhorn.

Port of Churchill celebrates first grain shipment in six years

Approximately 30,000 tonnes of Canadian durum wheat from Saskatchewan-based AGT Foods is being loaded at the northern Manitoba port and will be shipped to customers in Europe.

Looking back on Bombers shocking, and convincing, win over CFL’s top team

It was getting harder and harder to believe in the 2026 edition of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

If anyone outside their locker room picked them to beat the Montreal Alouettes, they must’ve kept it to themselves, as pundits — this one included — and armchair quarterbacks across the nation doubted their chances heading into Friday night.

And honestly, rightfully so. The Bombers had left a lot to be desired through their opening 10 games.

But no matter what the stats say or what outsiders think, they play the games for a reason.

Winnipegger Kirt Hill gearing up for first season as Oilers assistant GM

Growing up in the Maples, Kirt Hill spent countless hours on the outdoor rink dreaming of winning the Stanley Cup.

As he made his way through the minor hockey system, into the system of the Winnipeg Hawks and Thrashers and later into the Western Hockey League with the Kelowna Rockets, that dream was still very much alive.

But after a trade to the Regina Pats and a pit stop in the USHL, Hill had a revelation of sorts.

“In Regina, as a 19-year-old and seeing how good they were, I kind of knew the writing was on the wall for me,” Hill said in a recent telephone interview from Edmonton.