Good morning!
Tories out in front: Let’s kick things off with results of a poll commissioned by the Free Press that show more than half of Manitoba voters are set to support the Progressive Conservatives in today’s provincial election. The Forum Research Poll indicates the Tories will capture as many as 43 of the province’s 57 seats, with 11 seats for the NDP and three for the Liberals. The interactive phone survey of 1,083 randomly selected respondents also found the provincial Green Party had made gains in Manitoba and was likely to take nine per cent of the vote. The poll was conducted Saturday and Sunday. READ MORE
Your forecast: No one can use weather as an excuse for not getting out to vote today. Environment Canada is all but promising warm, sunny spring weather across the province as Manitobans head to the polls. In Winnipeg, expect sunshine and a temperature that rises from about 5 C when the polls open to a high of 18 C by mid-afternoon. In Brandon, the daytime high is 17 C under a bright, blue sky, while the forecast for Gimli is sunshine and a high of 16 C. The temperature in The Pas is expected to hit 18 C, Thompson could reach 20 C, while even Churchill could get to 8 C, its warmest day of the entire week by far.
In case you missed it
John Woods / The Canadian Press filesThe remains of six infants were hidden in a city storage locker. Andrea Giesbrecht was arrested in October 2014 after the remains were found. Workers were emptying the locker after the bill wasn’t paid.
Grisly case in court: The case involving Winnipeg woman Andrea Giesbrecht, a U-Haul storage locker and the remains of six babies found inside large, plastic storage containers began in a Winnipeg court room on Monday. The public is expected to finally hear who justice officials believe were the babies’ parents and the circumstances behind their deaths. READ MORE
RCMP catch alleged thief: A 53-year-old woman is in hot water due to allegations she stole over $200,000 from the St. Andrews Community Club while she was the volunteer secretary-treasurer. Sharon Wasny was charged with theft and fraud, and is to appear in court in May. RCMP say they probed the case for nearly a year after suspicions were raised by the club about financial mismanagement. The club never made money with Wasny in charge of the books, but immediately started making money when she left, said an RCMP spokesman. READ MORE
B.C. wildfires force evacuations: A state of emergency has been declared in northern British Columbia, where a number of wildfires have burned buildings, forced residents from their homes and closed roads. A notice posted on The Peace River Regional District says a large area, including Fort St. John and the District of Taylor, has been placed under a state of emergency because there is danger to people and property in the area. READ MORE
Up next
FileA voter walks out of a polling station in Winnipeg after voting in the October 2011 Manitoba election.
It’s time to vote: Go to the polls. Go directly to the polls. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Finally, after a five-week campaign, the 41st Manitoba General Election takes place today, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you’re not sure where to go to fill out your ballot, visit www.electionsmanitoba.ca and click on Voter Participation. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSManito Ahbee Exec. Director Lisa Meeches helps launch new aboriginal-language signs that will be put up at downtown businesses.
Warm welcomes downtown: Downtown Winnipeg BIZ and its Aboriginal Peoples’ Advisory Committee kicked off a program Monday in which businesses are invited to install decals with the word “welcome” in different indigenous languages — Ojibwe, Cree, Dene, Michif, Dakota and Inuktitut — in addition to English and French. READ MORE
Ray’s TV mom dies: Doris Roberts, the spunky actress who played the sharp-tongued, endlessly meddling mother on the TV hit “Everybody Loves Raymond” died on Monday. She was 90. Roberts won four Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Marie Barone on the CBS show about an affectionate but bickering extended family that also starred Ray Romano, Brad Garrett and Patricia Heaton. Peter Boyle, who played her husband, Frank Barone, died in 2006. Roberts also was known for her role in the 1980s TV detective series “Remington Steele.” The actress began her stage career on Broadway in the 1950s. READ MORE
Trending now
RICHARD VOGEL / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILESThere is no end to the number of online animals, and nobody was busier than Grumpy Cat in 2015.
#BeforeYouTube: Come on, this is almost as hard to remember as “before Google.” Among the memories: #BeforeYouTube, “I had to figure out my math homework on my own,” “Rick Astley left us the hell alone,” and, perhaps most pointedly, “CATS ENJOYED MORE PRIVACY.”
On this date:
On April 19, 1956: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that an unconditional truce had been signed between Egypt and Israel; U.S. President Eisenhower welcomed Soviet offers of support for the U.N. peace effort in the region. Enough polio vaccine had been tested and approved to treat 1,000,000 Canadian children, but authorities said at least triple that amount would be required to meet the target of inoculating 2,000,000 children against the crippling disease, as multiple doses were required. In Manitoba, floodwaters of the raging Whitemud River were across Hwy. 4 and threatened to cut Canadian National railways tracks near Gladstone.
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