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Business

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Wellington-Altus Financial founder and CEO, Shaun Hauser.

Wellington-Altus Financial again tops annual Brokerage Report Card

Aaron Epp 3 minute read Yesterday at 8:57 PM CDT

A Winnipeg-based investment advisory firm is marking two more milestones as its swift growth continues.

Wellington-Altus Financial Inc. has surpassed $50 billion in assets under administration (AUA) — fewer than nine years after the firm was founded, and five months ahead of its November target.

At the same time, the firm’s private wealth division, Wellington-Altus Private Wealth Inc., has been ranked Canada’s No. 1 investment dealer in Investment Executive’s well-regarded Brokerage Report Card for the seventh year in a row.

“It feels great,” said Shaun Hauser, founder and CEO of Wellington-Altus Financial, attributing the firm’s success to “playing the long game since Day 1 and not really wavering in what we believe in.”

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MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew speaks on Wednesday at an event at Assiniboine Park Zoo.

Manitoba trade delegation makes D.C. case

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Preview

Manitoba trade delegation makes D.C. case

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Yesterday at 9:07 PM CDT

Manitoba’s presence in Washington, D.C., swelled — briefly — during a whirlwind trip to meet officials behind the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade.

A delegation visited the U.S. capitol on Tuesday. While there, they liaised with representatives from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s office and Canadian embassy officials.

“What we pushed hard on was that we have a mutually beneficial relationship,” said Bram Strain, president of the Business Council of Manitoba.

The keystone province exported some $7 billion worth of goods to the United States between January and June 2025, according to Manitoba data. It traded $9.04 billion in agri-food exports, and another $2.06 billion in agri-food imports, with the U.S. in 2025.

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Yesterday at 9:07 PM CDT

Business

A dealer watches computer monitors at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Asian shares retreat as US stocks halt their record-breaking rally, while oil prices fall back

Elaine Kurtenbach, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Asian shares retreat as US stocks halt their record-breaking rally, while oil prices fall back

Elaine Kurtenbach, The Associated Press 3 minute read Yesterday at 10:26 PM CDT

Asian shares retreated on Thursday following declines on Wall Street that snapped a nine-day winning streak for the S&P 500.

Oil prices fell back after surging Wednesday as renewed fighting threatened the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

Early Thursday in Asia, Brent crude was $1.17 lower at $96.64 per barrel, while benchmark U.S. crude oil shed $1.08 to $94.94 per barrel. Oil prices had climbed a day earlier after both the United States and Iran said they launched retaliations for earlier attacks or attempted ones.

In share trading, Japan's Nikkei 225 shed 1.9% to 67,101.83 as traders sold technology stocks to lock in gains. Energy and technology giant SoftBank Group slumped 10.4%, while Shin-Etsu Chemical dropped 3.8%.

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Yesterday at 10:26 PM CDT

Health

Luigi Mangione appears at a hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, Monday, May 18, 2026. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)

Latest Luigi Mangione hearing shrouded in secrecy as judge shuts out press and public

Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Latest Luigi Mangione hearing shrouded in secrecy as judge shuts out press and public

Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press 4 minute read Yesterday at 12:56 PM CDT

NEW YORK (AP) — A hearing in Luigi Mangione ’s state murder case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was held in secret Wednesday after the judge shut out the press and public without explanation.

New York Judge Gregory Carro said he sealed the virtual proceeding at the request of the defense but provided no other details, raising questions about transparency in the closely watched case.

Court hearings in the U.S. are presumptively open to the public, but judges are permitted to close them in certain circumstances, such as to protect sensitive or confidential information.

Carro held the hearing in his chambers at the Manhattan courthouse where Mangione is set to go to trial on Sept. 8. Mangione, his lawyers and prosecutors all appeared via video conference. A lawyer representing news organizations sent a letter to Carro asking his reasons for sealing the hearing but was ignored by the judge and rebuffed by his staff.

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Yesterday at 12:56 PM CDT

Business

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Owner of Little Sister Coffee Maker, Vanessa Stachiw, outside the company’s new soon-to-open location in the Exchange District.

Little Sister coffee chain adds new link in Exchange District

Aaron Epp 5 minute read Preview

Little Sister coffee chain adds new link in Exchange District

Aaron Epp 5 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 2, 2026

Something new is brewing in the East Exchange District, and for coffee lovers, it’s grounds for celebration.

Little Sister Coffee Maker is preparing to open its doors at 171 McDermot Ave. next month. It’s the third and largest coffee shop for the Winnipeg company, which has operated a roastery in the building since 2016.

“I don’t even know that people know that about us — that we’ve been roasting coffee here in the Exchange for literally 10 years,” said owner Vanessa Stachiw. “I’m excited to bring more visibility to the roasting side of our business, and honestly, just stoked to be in the Exchange.”

The space was home to Darling Bar and VA Cafe from 2023 until earlier this year. Before that, it housed Forth Café and Forth Bar.

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Tuesday, Jun. 2, 2026

Health

A health worker disinfects the airport near the World Food Programme's (WFP) aircraft following the government's announcement of Bunia National Airport's reopening in Bunia, Congo, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

WHO calls for travel restrictions on Ebola-affected countries to be lifted, days after Canada’s comes in effect

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

WHO calls for travel restrictions on Ebola-affected countries to be lifted, days after Canada’s comes in effect

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 4:23 PM CDT

TORONTO - The World Health Organization is calling on countries to remove any travel restrictions recently imposed on people coming from Ebola-affected countries.

The request comes days after Canada stopped approving visas for Congolese nationals as part of what the federal government said was a temporary measure to reduce the risk of the virus entering and spreading within the country.

Canadian officials also initiated a mandatory self-isolation period of 21 days for anyone entering the country who has recently been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan.

In response to the health organization’s plea, a spokesperson for the immigration minister said that the safety and well-being of Canadians is the top priority and the current approach will be adapted if needed.

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Updated: Yesterday at 4:23 PM CDT

Business

MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS Robinson Lighting Co-Owners Leigh (left) and Brett Robinson (right) May 29, 2026

Robinson Lighting prepares to celebrate 90 years as family-run business with gala event in glittering showroom

Aaron Epp 6 minute read Preview

Robinson Lighting prepares to celebrate 90 years as family-run business with gala event in glittering showroom

Aaron Epp 6 minute read Monday, Jun. 1, 2026

Brett Robinson remembers the night the lights went out in his family’s business — half of the lights, anyway.

The businessman and his colleagues at Robinson Lighting Ltd. were preparing to host a wine and cheese event for interior designers at the Winnipeg company’s Polo Park-area store. A fire broke out behind the building, impacting a transformer and knocking out power to 50 per cent of the showroom.

Guests arrived to find four or five firetrucks on the scene, Robinson recalls, adding firefighters extinguished the blaze in short order.

“It worked out,” he says, chuckling at the memory. “We still carried on and everybody kind of laughed about it.”

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Monday, Jun. 1, 2026

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Health

Deputy Premier and Attorney General Niki Sharma looks on during the swearing-in ceremony at Government House in Victoria, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Penticton, B.C., joins province’s ‘forever chemicals’ class-action lawsuit

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Penticton, B.C., joins province’s ‘forever chemicals’ class-action lawsuit

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Yesterday at 1:41 PM CDT

VICTORIA - The B.C. city of Penticton will be representing municipalities in a class-action lawsuit against the makers of so-called "forever chemicals" for contaminating drinking-water systems.

The B.C. government launched the lawsuit in 2024 against manufacturers of consumer products that contain the PFAS chemicals, saying they could contaminate the environment for centuries and threaten people's health.

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma says in a statement Wednesday that Penticton has joined the lawsuit to represent municipalities "on the front lines" as they deal with the chemicals contaminating drinking water. 

Sharma says the city has already played a leading role in testing and monitoring water systems, while co-ordinating with other municipalities to mitigate the chemicals' impact on residents.

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Yesterday at 1:41 PM CDT

Business

A plume of black smoke is seen over the port of St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, after a Ukrainian drone attack. (AP Photo)

Ukraine’s drone strikes set a gloomy tone for Putin’s economic showcase

James Jordan And Harriet Morris, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Ukraine’s drone strikes set a gloomy tone for Putin’s economic showcase

James Jordan And Harriet Morris, The Associated Press 3 minute read Yesterday at 11:05 PM CDT

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — A massive black cloud rising above the St. Petersburg skyline from a Ukrainian drone strike set a gloomy tone for the opening of President Vladimir Putin's annual showcase of Russia's economic achievements.

With Putin set to arrive Thursday in his hometown that is hosting the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Ukrainian attack a day earlier that set an oil terminal ablaze was another embarrassing blow to his efforts to minimize the impact of the 4-year-old conflict and cast it as a distant event with no effect on Russian daily life.

The attack, which also targeted a naval base near Russia's second-largest city on the Gulf of Finland, underlined Ukraine’s growing capability to hit deep inside its neighbor and demonstrated that even the heavily protected city where Putin was born is increasingly vulnerable.

Scores of flights were delayed or diverted at St. Petersburg’s airport and authorities cut cellphone internet service to try to prevent drone attacks.

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Yesterday at 11:05 PM CDT

Science & Technology

FILE - Elon Musk departs after a welcome ceremony with President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

AI companies are barreling toward huge Wall Street debuts. A look at the biggest players

Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

AI companies are barreling toward huge Wall Street debuts. A look at the biggest players

Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press 5 minute read Yesterday at 11:05 PM CDT

Some of the leading artificial intelligence companies are moving toward initial public offerings this year at eye-popping valuations. From Anthropic to SpaceX to OpenAI, tech giants are looking to take their shares public to access more capital in the race to shape the technology's future.

The amount of money involved in building and maintaining artificial intelligence models, the pursuit of artificial general intelligence that can surpass humans at many tasks, and widespread AI adoption all have led to an air of excitement around the technology that has helped lift the stock market to record highs.

“These companies are now burning through cash to win the AI race, and public equity is the cheapest source available, particularly in a rising interest rate environment,” said Michael Field, chief equity analyst at Morningstar.

But amid the billions — even trillions — at stake, worries about an AI bubble are looming in the background. Some experts fear tech companies and venture capitalists are pouring too much money into a still-nascent and unproven technology.

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Yesterday at 11:05 PM CDT

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