Your forecast
Mainly cloudy, with 30 per cent chance of flurries late this afternoon. Wind from the northwest at 20 km/h becoming south at 20 late this morning. High -12, wind chill -29 this morning and -20 this afternoon. Risk of frostbite.
In Ottawa, officials from Environment Canada presented a seasonal forecast for a winter that will feel more like a typical Canadian winter, despite above-normal temperatures.
The El Niño weather pattern that brought record-breaking warm temperatures last year and forced the closure of the iconic Rideau Canal rink for all but a handful of bumpy skating days has shifted, and the cooler and more unsettled La Niña is taking its place.
“It will feel like more of a typical winter for many people,” said meteorologist Gina Ressler. The Canadian Press has more here.
People make their way through the falling snow in downtown Ottawa, Wednesday. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press)
What’s happening today
The Winnipeg Jets face the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center, starting at 6 p.m.
Today’s must-read
A South Point Douglas building has been chosen as the proposed location of Manitoba’s first supervised drug consumption site, drawing mixed reactions, including concerns about safety and criticism of the government’s consultation process.
Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara and Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith confirmed Wednesday that 200 Disraeli Fwy., just east of Main Street, is being eyed for the site, subject to federal approval and other considerations.
Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand, who supports a safe consumption site, said the facility must offer addictions treatment, housing and other supports to visitors to have success. Chris Kitching has the story.
The proposed spot for a safe consumption site is a vacant space at 200 Disraeli Freeway, north of the corner of Disraeli and Henry Avenue. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
On the bright side
A sign of the jolliest time of year is once again making its appearance near downtown Winnipeg, signalling the start of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
For more than 50 years, statues of the Three Wise Men riding camels are hoisted on top of the Canada Life building on Osborne Street.
The long-standing holiday tradition started in 1973 when the company, formerly known as Great-West Life Assurance Co., first displayed the more than four-metre-tall statues. The Canadian Press has more here.
Three Wise Men statues stand on the entrance of the Canada Life headquarters in Winnipeg. (John Woods / The Canadian Press)
On this date
On Dec. 5, 1960: The Winnipeg Free Press reported in London, Canadian diplomats strove to assure Britain that Canada had not broken its imperial trading faith, in the wake of a growing number of newspaper stories suggesting the trade relationship was in trouble. In Winnipeg, a night-long blizzard snarled public transportation. In Montreal, a report forecast that in 20 years’ time, in 1980, the United States would depend more on Canada for raw industrial materials, and that both countries would be more dependent on sources of supply from outside North America. Read the rest of this day’s paper here. Search our archives for more here.
Today’s front page
Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Free Press.
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