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Poll shows slim majority of Canadians in support of Churchill port expansion

Chris Kitching 5 minute read Preview

Poll shows slim majority of Canadians in support of Churchill port expansion

Chris Kitching 5 minute read 6:40 PM CDT

More than half of Canadians support expanding the Port of Churchill, although the proposed mega-project faces environmental concerns and a lack of public awareness outside Manitoba, a new poll suggests.

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6:40 PM CDT

COURTESY OF ARCTIC GATEWAY GROUP (AGG)

The Arctic Gateway Group took over ownership of Churchill’s port and Manitoba’s northern railway in 2018. Buoyed by government investments, the entity is forecasting a significant increase in Arctic shipping.

COURTESY OF ARCTIC GATEWAY GROUP (AGG)
The Arctic Gateway Group took over ownership of Churchill’s port and Manitoba’s northern railway in 2018. Buoyed by government investments, the entity is forecasting a significant increase in Arctic shipping.

Manitoba summit to explore solutions to chronic truancy

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Preview

Manitoba summit to explore solutions to chronic truancy

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read 7:13 PM CDT

Winnipeg teachers are cutting class on Thursday to strategize how to improve student attendance and remove barriers so more children show up for lessons on a regular basis.

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7:13 PM CDT

Free Press Files

Free Press Files

Crown appeals stay of proceedings against man accused of killing his mother

Dean Pritchard 4 minute read Preview

Crown appeals stay of proceedings against man accused of killing his mother

Dean Pritchard 4 minute read Updated: 6:50 PM CDT

The Manitoba Prosecution Service is appealing a judge’s decision staying a second-degree murder charge against a man who went to trial two times accused of killing his mother when he was a teenager.

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Updated: 6:50 PM CDT

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES

Manitoba Crown prosecutors are appealing a judge’s decision to throw out a second-degree murder charge in a case against a now-23-year-old man.

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES
                                Manitoba Crown prosecutors are appealing a judge’s decision to throw out a second-degree murder charge in a case against a now-23-year-old man.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS
                                Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff had little explanation Monday over the club’s season that can fairly be described as somewhere between disappointing and disastrous.

Hope doing heavy lifting for Cheveldayoff

Jets GM appears unconcerned about job security despite club’s nosedive of a season

Mike McIntyre 7 minute read 5:19 PM CDT

Real-life partners Brady Oliveira, Alex Blumberg join forces to save dogs in new docuseries

Jen Zoratti 4 minute read Preview

Real-life partners Brady Oliveira, Alex Blumberg join forces to save dogs in new docuseries

Jen Zoratti 4 minute read Updated: 9:23 AM CDT

Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira and realtor/rescue influencer Alex Blumberg may be the charismatic couple at the heart of Must Love Dogs, a new half-hour docuseries steaming on CBC Gem, but the stars of the show are the dogs they rescue.

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Updated: 9:23 AM CDT

Courtesy of CBC

Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira cohosts the new show Must Love Dogs with his partner, realtor and rescue influencer Alex Blumberg.

Courtesy of CBC
                                Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira cohosts the new show Must Love Dogs with his partner, realtor and rescue influencer Alex Blumberg.

Opinion

Explosion forces residents to evacuate Kennedy Street Manitoba Housing complex

Scott Billeck 3 minute read Preview

Explosion forces residents to evacuate Kennedy Street Manitoba Housing complex

Scott Billeck 3 minute read 4:50 PM CDT

Residents of an inner-city high-rise say they were forced to evacuate Monday afternoon after explosions blew out a window on the eighth floor.

Darrell Klassen, who lives on the top floor of the 16-storey Manitoba Housing apartment complex at 444 Kennedy St., said he heard several blasts before noticing the smell of smoke.

“The elevators were shut down, so we had to take the stairwells,” Klassen said. “Both stairwells were full of smoke, so I had to mask up and put a wet cloth over my face.”

Klassen said the incident marks the seventh fire in as many years, adding that many are linked to drug activity.

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4:50 PM CDT

SUPPLIED

Residents reported an explosion at a 444 Kennedy St. apartment block Monday.

SUPPLIED
                                Residents reported an explosion at a 444 Kennedy St. apartment block Monday.

Canada Post reports record $1.57-billion loss in 2025

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Canada Post reports record $1.57-billion loss in 2025

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 5:30 PM CDT

OTTAWA - Canada Post has released its annual report, detailing a $1.57-billion loss before tax for 2025.

The Crown corporation said in a news release the record loss highlights the need to transform and move away from cash injections.

The report said the company’s annual loss widened by $728 million, or 86.7 per cent, compared to a loss of $841 million the year before. 

Revenue for the year declined by $315 million, or 4.7 per cent, compared to 2024, as parcel volumes fell "sharply" in large part due to labour uncertainty throughout 2025.

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Updated: 5:30 PM CDT

Jets’ Lowry, Perfetti determined for team to come back stronger next season

Ken Wiebe 8 minute read Preview

Jets’ Lowry, Perfetti determined for team to come back stronger next season

Ken Wiebe 8 minute read Yesterday at 5:13 PM CDT

Adam Lowry was quick to point the finger at himself and is planning to be part of the solution.

The Winnipeg Jets’ captain was both thoughtful and accountable when addressing the media for the final time this season over the weekend.

It was clear Lowry had spent plenty of time processing what had transpired over the course of a long and frustrating season, both for himself and for a Jets team that didn’t get to where it wanted to be.

“Criticism of my game is very warranted and very fair,” said Lowry. “I go from 16 goals to 5. That’s a huge dropoff. I felt like, coming out of the Olympic break, I started to find my game, I started to hold on to pucks more but I know there’s another level I need to get to.

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Yesterday at 5:13 PM CDT

ETHAN CAIRNS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES

Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry (right) says it’s possible he came back from off-season hip surgery a bit too soon.

ETHAN CAIRNS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
                                Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry (right) says it’s possible he came back from off-season hip surgery a bit too soon.

Provinces on track to allow cross-border alcohol sales by next month, Ottawa says

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Provinces on track to allow cross-border alcohol sales by next month, Ottawa says

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 1 minute read Updated: 3:12 PM CDT

OTTAWA - The federal government says 10 provinces and the Yukon are on track to allow consumers to buy Canadian alcohol directly from producers by next month.

Pierre-Alain Bujold, a spokesperson for the Privy Council Office, says provinces and territories are continuing to work toward the May 2026 deadline.

He says each participating province and territory will decide how to implement the policy within their jurisdictions.

All 10 provinces and the Yukon signed an agreement last year to allow consumers to order Canadian wine, spirits, beer and other alcoholic beverages for personal consumption directly from producers.

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Updated: 3:12 PM CDT

Bottles of British Columbia wine are displayed at a liquor store in Cremona, Alta., on Feb. 7, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Bottles of British Columbia wine are displayed at a liquor store in Cremona, Alta., on Feb. 7, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Bighill ends a CFL career that includes three Grey Cups, three top defender awards

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Bighill ends a CFL career that includes three Grey Cups, three top defender awards

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: 4:11 PM CDT

WINNIPEG - Linebacker Adam Bighill, a three-time Grey Cup champion and three-time CFL outstanding defensive player, is retiring after 13 seasons in the league.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced Monday that they signed the six-time CFL all star to a one-day contract so he could retire as a member of the club where he spent six seasons and won two championships.

The 37-year-old Bighill is sixth all-time in the CFL with 951 defensive tackles. He also had 72 special-teams tackles, 50 sacks, 15 interceptions, 14 forced fumbles and a touchdown over 199 career games with B.C., Winnipeg and Calgary.

Bighill, from Montesano, Wash., turned pro with B.C. in 2011 after playing college football with Central Washington. He helped the Lions win the Grey Cup in his rookie season.

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Updated: 4:11 PM CDT

B.C. Lions' James Butler (20) is tackled by Calgary Stampeders' Adam Bighill, bottom left, as he carries the ball during the second half of the CFL western semifinal football game, in Vancouver, on Saturday, November 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. Lions' James Butler (20) is tackled by Calgary Stampeders' Adam Bighill, bottom left, as he carries the ball during the second half of the CFL western semifinal football game, in Vancouver, on Saturday, November 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Premier unfazed by legal challenge against detention law

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Preview

Premier unfazed by legal challenge against detention law

Carol Sanders 3 minute read 5:55 PM CDT

Premier Wab Kinew said he’s not concerned about the legal challenge to legislation that allows 72-hour detention for people in a drug psychosis who pose a danger to themselves or others.

Dr. Jim Simm, Manitoba’s retired chief psychiatrist, is taking the province to court. The case questions the constitutionality of the law, which passed late last year, that allows the province to incarcerate intoxicated people for up to 72 hours. Simm said it will harm those suffering from mental illness or disabilities.

Simm, an outspoken critic of the Protective Detention and Care of Intoxicated Persons Act, is seeking leave from the Court of King’s Bench to challenge the law that he says violates provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

On Monday, the government reported that no one has been detained under the new law for more than 20.5 hours.

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5:55 PM CDT

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Premier Wab Kinew says he’s not concerned about the challenge to the law that allows the province to incarcerate intoxicated people for up to 72 hours.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Premier Wab Kinew says he’s not concerned about the challenge to the law that allows the province to incarcerate intoxicated people for up to 72 hours.

Convicted former teacher fights for appeal as uncle grilled in legislature

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Preview

Convicted former teacher fights for appeal as uncle grilled in legislature

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read 5:55 PM CDT

As Chasity Findlay’s lawyers fought to overturn her sexual assault conviction in court Monday, Tory MLA Greg Nesbitt, her uncle who posted her bail, sat in question period and endured verbal barbs from Premier Wab Kinew.

At the Manitoba Court of Appeal, lawyers for the former high school teacher convicted in 2024 of sexual assault against a then-15-year-old student, argued text messages provided to police by the victim shouldn’t have been admitted into evidence at trial. Her lawyers argued the trial judge erred by accepting evidence of Findlay’s sexual history and erred in her analysis of Findlay’s credibility.

Findlay, who was 30 at the time of the offences, remains on bail as the province’s highest court mulls its decision. She was originally sentenced to five years in prison in September 2024.

Nesbitt, MLA for Riding Mountain, did not comment on his niece’s case during question period, though it was repeatedly brought up by Manitoba’s premier.

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5:55 PM CDT

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS

Progressive Conservative MLA Greg Nesbitt photographed in the chamber Monday, April 20, 2026. Nesbitt has been brought under fire for supplying bail for a relative.

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
Progressive Conservative MLA Greg Nesbitt photographed in the chamber Monday, April 20, 2026. Nesbitt has been brought under fire for supplying bail for a relative.

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