Taking Pride in what’s been built

Sunday, June 7, was a steamy day but, even without the heat, the heart of Winnipeg glowed with warmth.

That’s because an estimated 15,000 LGBTTQ+ Winnipeggers and allies snaked their way through the city’s downtown arteries — from the Manitoba legislature, along Portage Avenue and to The Forks — as part of the city’s 39th annual Pride Winnipeg parade, a riotously colourful expression and celebration of love and joy.

At The Forks, participants enjoyed drag shows, live music, theatre performances and other activities to mark the culmination of Pride Week, as well as the beginning of what the province of Manitoba now recognizes as Pride Month.

Jim Kane, grand marshal of this year’s parade, said during the pre-parade rally in front of the Legislative Building that Winnipeg and Manitoba have made great strides since 1987, when the first Pride march was held.

‘We’re doing a lot’: Manitoba Lt.-Gov., proud of reconciliation work being done

Reconciliation was a hot topic for Manitoba’s lieutenant-governor and her counterparts as they convened in Ottawa to meet Canada’s new Governor General.

Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville attended Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour’s swearing-in ceremony on Monday.

Both women represent the Crown — Neville at a provincial level, and Arbour federally.

“It was lovely to meet her,” Neville said, adding the two had met once before. “She was warm, she was welcoming.”

Upcoming TV production spotlights Winnipeg artisans

Think Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, but for Winnipeg artisans instead of U.S. eateries.

That was Amanda Buhse’s pitch to Rogers. Television executives approved.

Now Buhse, whose Coal and Canary candles have landed in Hollywood swag bags and Manitoba markets, is hitting the road with a camera.

She aims to produce an eight-episode series called Made in Winnipeg. It will air on Rogers TV this fall, by current timelines.

Weighing profits against transforming ‘beautiful country’ of wind-turbine proposal south of Brandon

A major wind-turbine project has been proposed for the Carroll area south of Brandon. Innergex Renewable Energy has made preliminary agreements with landowners on roughly 12,000 acres and is looking to install 30 to 35 turbines.

Community gardens, urban farms more than hobby spaces, report authors say

The City of Winnipeg is being urged to make several changes to keep community gardens and urban farms in place longer.

Inflation hitting Canadians where it hurts

Inflation bites. That’s especially true for a key element of a budget that’s challenging to go without: food.

Higher prices always eat away at spending power, but food price increases have devoured household budgets in recent years, Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data show.

Food cost increases may have peaked in Manitoba in 2022 at nearly 14 per cent, year over year. But even recent data shows prices rising 4.8 per cent, among the highest in Canada.

Households have little choice but to endure higher food costs, given they cannot go without, or they are increasingly turning to food banks and other community supports. Since 2020, the province’s food banks have logged a 150 per cent increase in use, a 2025 Harvest Manitoba report found.

Une nouvelle oeuvre pour raconter l’histoire autrement

Pendant des décennies, le parc La Vérendrye, situé sur l’avenue Taché, au cœur de Saint-Boniface, a raconté l’histoire de l’explorateur français du même nom à travers une seule statue. La Compagnie de La Vérendrye, un groupe de reconstitution historique, a piloté un projet de conception d’une nouvelle œuvre d’art qui pourrait raconter une autre partie de l’histoire.

Mondetta unveils expansion amid ScaleUP week

Scratch the kitchenette — Mondetta’s new RV is stocked with suits and gas for cross-country sales.

The Winnipeg-based clothier has spent $500,000 renovating an RV to take its menswear brand, Modern Ambition, to cities throughout Canada.

It’s also slated new stores for Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.

“We are very proud that a Canadian brand is … expanding and getting that recognition,” said Georgi Gvakharia, Mondetta Clothing’s senior vice-president and global head of retail.

Winnipeg fans celebrate Canada’s first point at World Cup — on home soil

Winnipeg soccer fans groaned as Bosnia and Herzegovina took the early lead against Canada at the FIFA World Cup Friday afternoon.

“It’s the way it goes” said Mark Seburn, 67, one of a few dozen footy fanatics who were getting their game on at X-Cues’ Café and Lounge.

It was Canada’s first match on home soil — at Toronto Stadium.

“It’s a special moment,” Seburn said, noting he got into the sport when his children played as youngsters. He said soccer has brought their family closer together.

‘Fentanyl fold’ on city streets stresses prompt need for supervised consumption site: premier

Alarmed after seeing the “fentanyl fold” on city streets, Premier Wab Kinew promises a supervised drug consumption site will open this month — despite concerns essential staffers have yet to be hired.

In a sit-down interview with the Free Press Friday, the premier reinforced that the site — announced in the summer of 2024 — would be operational by the end of June.

“The urgency of the drug crisis is so visible in a way that everyone sees it,” Kinew said.

The province received approval from Health Canada for the Indigenous-led site, at 366 Henry Ave., in May.

Storm insurance claims could set Manitoba record

Manitoba is on pace to set a record for insurance claims related to this week’s storms.

Insurance brokers have been inundated with calls to assess and process claims for flooded basements and properties. Local insurer ONE Insurance said it has received more than 700 claims and expects to issue millions of dollars to its clients.

“It is definitely the single largest event that we’ve experienced in our organization,” said interim CEO Rey Girardin.

Residents in the RM of Rockwood, including in Stonewall and Balmoral, have submitted the most claims, he said.

Unmoved by young offender’s progress, Manitoba judge ordered prison term; Indigenous man later chose death

The day started with an email from my editor.

“Are there any updates on Ethan Wildcat?” she wanted to know.

Good question, and one I was curious to answer, as well. It had been more than three years since Wildcat, a young first-time offender, was sentenced to three years in prison in a case that highlighted how differently Indigenous and non-Indigenous offenders in similar circumstances can be treated by the justice system.

Wildcat was 19 when he was arrested in March 2021 following a firearm incident at a Winnipeg home that resulted in no injuries.

Winkler hosts first LGBTTQ+ celebration Saturday

Sebastian Saunders is both excited and nervous about returning to Winkler to tell his story at his hometown’s first Pride event.

To get through his anxiety, he imagines a younger version of himself in the audience. “I’m just imagining that kid being like: ‘Oh, I can be happy and healthy and be myself and find community and be OK,’” he says.

Growing up attending church in Winkler, Saunders internalized a lot of homophobia and transphobia. “I was indoctrinated to believe I was a giant abomination,” he says. At times he thought about taking his own life.

Saunders was diagnosed with cancer when he was 19. The experience forced him to ask himself hard questions. When he finished chemotherapy, he told his family and friends he was queer. “I was ostracized by most of the people around me,” he says.

New Brunswick woman sues OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT led to daughter’s death

When 24-year-old Alice Carrier told ChatGPT that she had to die to stop the pain she was feeling, the chatbot allegedly appeared to agree. By the next day, Carrier was dead.

Alberta picks university to cost out separation, panel to assess ahead of referendum

EDMONTON - Alberta's government said Friday it has picked the University of Calgary to study potential costs of the province leaving Canada.

It has also formed what it calls an expert advisory panel to review the university's report and provide a separate assessment.

The panel is led by economist Jack Mintz, a go-to expert for Alberta governments who has served on several advisory groups and panels in recent decades.

It also features business leaders and former politicians Janice MacKinnon, a Saskatchewan NDP finance minister, and Ted Morton, an Alberta Progressive Conservative finance minister.

Small grocers embrace Ottawa’s national food security strategy

Independent grocers and industry stakeholders are welcoming the federal government's national food security strategy, aimed at boosting competition among grocers, growing local produce year-round and improving consumer affordability.

Ottawa moves to tighten rules barring forced labour products from Canada

OTTAWA - The federal government tabled a bill Friday to change the way Canada bars imports of products made with forced labour following an American tariff threat.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand was in Paris with Prime Minister Mark Carney as the legislation was tabled by her parliamentary secretary, Rob Oliphant.

"This will be a made-in-Canada solution to an international problem," Oliphant told reporters on Parliament Hill.

He said the bill would create a public list of products that have been linked to forced labour in specific regions, based on intelligence from embassies and other authorities.

Supreme Court rules New Brunswick lieutenant-governor must be bilingual

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick must be able to perform their functions in both official languages.

As UFOs go mainstream, the jury is out on what the existence of alien life might mean for religion

Some religious adherents, as well as some nonbelievers, maintain that the existence of life on other planets might undermine many faiths because it would complicate assertions that humans are unique. But others argue the opposite.

Carney announces new intelligence exchange agreement with France

PARIS - Canada and France will deepen their defence and industrial co-operation through a new general security of information agreement, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in Paris on Friday.

Carney made the announcement in a joint statement alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, ahead of a bilateral meeting between the two at the Palais de l’Elysée.

“Businesses in both of our countries are doing more together, in energy, defence, critical minerals and now in (artificial intelligence)," Carney said.

"What this means is an ability to exchange classified information between our defence, our space, our AI and our aerospace sectors.”

B.C. firm ‘over the moon’ about contract to chart Canada’s role in lunar exploration

VANCOUVER - Shaun Riddell is "over the moon" — figuratively, if not quite yet literally — since his Langley, B.C., firm was named among three companies hired by the Canadian Space Agency to lay the groundwork for human and robotic missions to the lunar surface.

Riddell, the CEO of SpaceDirt, says he was "blown away" by the awarding of the $500,000 contract, given the competition for the national grant.

SpaceDirt makes technology for autonomous robotic resource development on Earth, aimed at predicting where to drill and making discovery faster, safer, and more cost-effective in extreme environments.

Riddell says the long-term vision for the company's robots is to be the "dump trucks" of the moon, while the current project will draw a road map on how "Canada will contribute to the overall mission of developing resources on the moon."