Icelandic voters reject a proposal to restart negotiations to join the European Union

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Iceland's voters rejected restarting negotiations to join the European Union in a referendum that pitted concerns about geopolitical stability against keeping national control of Iceland’s prized fisheries, officials said Sunday.

Opponents defeated the measure by a margin of 52.8% to 47.2%, the National Electoral Commission said. The result puts the divisive issue to rest for now — more than a decade after a euroskeptic government ended EU talks that had begun after the 2008 financial crisis.

The vote Saturday was held in the shadow of repeated threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to take control of nearby Greenland. Although Iceland is a NATO member, supporters said European solidarity would provide greater protection if Trump ever made similar threats toward the volcanic island.

Iceland’s left-leaning coalition government, elected in 2024, moved up the EU referendum it had planned for next year after Trump mistakenly named Iceland four times while speaking about his designs on Greenland.

Separatists hold independence rally in lead-up to Alberta’s birthday bash

EDMONTON - Alberta separatists converged outside the legislature in Edmonton on Saturday afternoon ahead of the province's birthday, with many praying, listening to sermons and saying Alberta would be better off without Canada after having joined Confederation 121 years ago.

"It's the corruption, the lies from out east. I'm just tired of it," said Skip Macaulay, a rally attendee who lives in the central Alberta city of Lacombe. "I'm tired of being told how to live my life. I'm a gun enthusiast ... I want change."

"They don't listen to what Alberta wants and needs," said Jill Didow, an Edmonton resident who was also at the rally. "I believe in Alberta independence."

Alberta officially became a province on Sept. 1, 1905, and various festivities are planned this weekend to mark the anniversary on Tuesday.

Beware invasive, ‘frightening’ waterhemp

There’s a threat lurking on the edge of Manitoba farmers’ fields this fall that’s even scarier than the escalating trade war with their biggest customer.

Provincial extension advisers are warning farmers to watch for a weed known as “tall waterhemp,” which, true to its name, may already be towering above ready-to-harvest crops.

Those wispy tentacles waving in the breeze look pretty innocuous from a distance. But this highly invasive member of the pigweed family produces hundreds of thousands of seeds that are just itching for dispersal through farmers’ combines and across their fields.

Each of those tiny seeds — one small pill container filled halfway holds 44,000 — can produce plants with stems the width of saplings and heights of two to five metres. One or two plants can quickly turn into a patch. If waterhemp takes over a field, it can choke out the growing crop and cut yields by more than 90 per cent.

City advised 275 people in 72 camps as of July

A tally by the City of Winnipeg shows the number of people in encampments has fallen by a few hundred since last September.

A Friday presentation to city council members shows 245 people lived in 72 encampments across the city in July, compared with about 100 encampments with 700 people in September 2025.

“There’s some good progress that’s being made … The number of people in encampments is less than half of what it was last year,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham.

The city did not provide numbers for July 2025. It has previously noted the number of encampments tends to increase in warmer months, which has happened each month since February 2026.

Carney’s defence of Lake Ontario carries enormous weight

Prime Minister Mark Carney's response to Trump's "Lake America" name change suggests something kind of new in the fight against the United States in this escalating trade war: pride in Canada’s Indigenity.

Trump’s tariff tantrum, geopolitical turmoil could be blessings in disguise for Manitoba’s diversified economy

It’s early July and Warren Luky’s second last day before he retires as president of United Steelworkers Local 6166. After a career at the bargaining table and in and around mineshafts, Luky speaks candidly as he fires up a barbecue at his Thompson home.

Luky, who represents 472 miners at Vale’s Thompson mining operation along with other northern labourers, is quite aware of the buzzwords currently attached to his trade and the region.

Phrases like “Arctic sovereignty,” “trade diversification,” “Indigenous-led” and “critical minerals” have caught on with politicians of all stripes over the past couple years as federal and provincial governments tout the need for greater Canadian sovereignty, with the push for major infrastructure projects declared a matter of national interest.

In light of the bitter collapse in trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S. on Aug. 21 — a historic blow to cross-border relations — these phrases are bound to become more contagious.

Premiers at odds over leveraging potash in Canada’s trade war with U.S.

OTTAWA - Premiers are sharply divided over whether to use Canada's natural resources as leverage in the trade war with the U.S., and potash has emerged as a key point of contention.

Canada is a major global supplier of potash, a key ingredient in fertilizers that are vital for the agricultural sector. The U.S. imports about 85 per cent of its potash from Canada.

While Ontario’s Doug Ford is pushing to pull the most damaging levers with the U.S., Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe and Alberta’s Danielle Smith are warning about a harmful long-term backlash.

Federal politicians are also weighing in. NDP leader Avi Lewis called for an export tax on "oil, gas, thermal coal, potash and other minerals to hit Trump where it hurts."

NDP trying to solve health-care problems from every angle — except the one likely to have the biggest impact

Winnipeg’s emergency-room wait times hit a record high in July, according to the latest data released Thursday by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

The 90th-percentile wait for all emergency rooms and urgent-care sites hit a staggering 13.02 hours last month, the longest wait ever recorded since the WRHA began publishing monthly data.

Thirteen hours is not a wait, it’s an endurance test. And it’s getting worse.

The 90th percentile is the point at which nine out of 10 patients experienced a shorter wait and one in 10 waited even longer.

Using energy exports to punish U.S. would be unwise, Trans Mountain chief says

CALGARY - Disrupting southbound oil exports in retaliation for U.S. tariffs is not viable and would have serious consequences for Canada, said the chief executive of Trans Mountain Corp.

"Interdependencies between both countries are high," Mark Maki said in an interview Friday following the release of the Crown corporation's second-quarter results, which saw its pipeline to the Vancouver area running 94 per cent full.

"I hope people put down the shovels here pretty quick. We're hitting each other and we've got to stop that."

There have been calls to keep the option open of using Canada's natural resources as leverage in the latest trade flare-up. U.S. tariffs of 50 per cent on an array of Canadian goods worth $28 billion are in effect after Canada walked away from talks last week. Canada has since announced plans to hit back with countertarrifs and U.S. President Donald Trump threatened further levies.

United Nations talks in Mongolia expose growing drought crisis as climate impacts worsen

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Representatives from nearly 200 countries wrapped up United Nations desertification talks in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on Friday, seeking ways to keep land productive as climate change heats the planet and degraded soils and landscapes lose their ability to hold water, produce food and support livelihoods.

Up to 40% of the world’s land is degraded, according to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which organizes the biennial talks. Droughts are also emerging in areas that were not considered highly vulnerable a decade ago, said Yasmine Fouad, the convention’s executive secretary.

“Drought is coming coupled with the impact of climate change,” Fouad said in an interview with the Associated Press. “It’s becoming more frequent, more intense and more prolonged."

Countries left Ulaanbaatar without resolving one of the talks' key issues — whether to create a legally binding global drought agreement — postponing a decision until the next round of talks in Egypt in two years. The issue had already been deferred at the previous meeting two years ago.

At the city’s busiest fire and paramedic hall, first responders face a relentless workload

As a soft rain begins to fall between the concrete walls of “Hope Alley,” little feels further away than the place’s namesake.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews have been called to the narrow downtown passage, named by Al Wiebe, a formerly homeless man turned advocate. People regularly pass through here, moving between the shelters, drop-ins and resource centres clustered around Main Street between Logan and Higgins avenues.

Against a wall, as the sky switches into night mode, a man sits bleeding from his nose, seemingly unaware of how he ended up with blood running down his T-shirt.

His situation has already set Winnipeg’s emergency response network in motion.

Interprovincial trade barriers falling but challenges remain: experts

The collapse of talks with the United States has added urgency to reducing trade barriers within Canada, but experts say it's not a simple fix.

Efforts to boost interprovincial trade have ramped up recently, including at a meeting this week of federal, provincial and territorial trade officials in Iqaluit.

In a communique released late Thursday, ministers agreed that the suspension of negotiations with the U.S. means it's more critical than ever to strengthen the economy at home.

As part of that push, nine provinces agreed last month to allow direct-to-consumer alcohol sales across provincial boundaries.

Manitoba Hydro’s strategy: Deny, deny, deny

Here’s a good story… A man walks into your office and says, “Have I got a deal for you! I want $3 billion (plus perhaps a bit more) to build you something that you might use three or even four times a year, for maybe 30-60 hours each time. Sign here.”

Davidson to lead provincewide economic development agency

The lead of Manitoba’s chamber network will become the driving force behind a provincewide economic development agency.

Chuck Davidson is leaving his role as president of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce. He’ll end his 13-year tenure at the non-profit, which represents more than 60 chambers, on Sept. 4.

On Sept. 8, he’ll begin as president and chief executive of Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism. The provincial government announced Thursday it’s mandated WEDT to serve as a provincewide economic development agency (following a Budget 2026 promise).

However, the shape of such an agency — and how it will affect existing entities — hasn’t yet been determined, Davidson said.

Premier, mayor voice support for decision to end police officers’ OT retail-security shifts

Premier Wab Kinew and Mayor Scott Gillingham are backing the police chief’s decision to end the option for officers to work overtime shifts providing security at retail stores.

Owners, agents reviewing bids to purchase Fort Garry Hotel

Downtown Winnipeg’s Fort Garry Hotel is a step closer to a potential sale.

Middle East war, oil prices expected to push Alberta’s budget back into the black

CALGARY - Alberta’s finances are swinging back into the black after war in the Middle East sent global energy prices surging.

The province’s latest fiscal update predicts a $2-billion surplus — a huge turnaround from the $9.4-billion deficit originally expected for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

It's the latest reversal of fortune for the oil-rich province perennially tied to international energy markets.

Finance Minister Jason Nixon welcomed the quarterly windfall as good news but warned the forecast could just as quickly take another turn.

Discoverability, not French-language labels, the issue in’ trade talks: LeBlanc

OTTAWA - The United States has withdrawn demands that Canada shelve French language protections as part of future trade talks, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday, as he also acknowledged demands to remove French language labels from products were not part of the latest round of negotiations.

In a social media post LeBlanc said "Canada welcomes that the U.S. is now withdrawing its positions on discoverability and labelling and is confirming that measures to promote French language and Canadian culture will not be subject to future U.S. trade actions," LeBlanc said on social media Thursday.

He said Canada looks forward to "further constructive U.S. clarifications on their other positions which would create the possibility of a mutually beneficial trade agreement that respects Canadian sovereignty."

The Liberal government cited French language protections as one of the reasons it ended trade talks with the Americans, with Prime Minister Mark Carney mentioning both the visibility of Canadian content on streaming services, and French-language product labelling, when he spoke on Aug. 22 about the trade talks dissolving.

Canada is bolstering its defense industry as US relations fray. A boom is on for local contractors

TORONTO (AP) — As Canada moves to reduce its dependence on American military suppliers, the push is on display inside a Toronto garment factory.

Hunched over sewing machines, two workers rapidly stitch together pieces of camouflage-patterned fabric and Velcro strips. In the next room, workers snip stray threads as they inspect the finished product: helmet covers for the Canadian military.

The factory is assembling uniforms for Wuxly, a luxury parka maker that is among a flurry of Canadian companies branching into defense contracting. As Canadian military spending surges, others are developing remote sensors for the country's vast Arctic region, making drones to resupply soldiers, and building autonomous robots.

The boom in the defense sector reflects Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's vow to strengthen the country's economic self-sufficiency amid fraying relations with Washington, including a fresh escalation this week with new rounds of tariffs.

Police chief pulls plug on security shifts at supermarkets, stores

The Winnipeg Police Service is ending its years-long practice of allowing officers to pick up overtime shifts to provide additional security in supermarkets and other stores at retailers’ expense.

Canadian Army looking for surveillance, cargo-drop drone suppliers

OTTAWA - The federal government has put out a small shopping list for new drones for the Canadian Army, which includes land and aerial drones that can deliver cargo and supply munitions to troops.

It's also looking for aerial surveillance and reconnaissance drones, including some specifically designed to operate in "extreme cold" Arctic environments.

Ottawa has issued a batch of five tenders under the army's Minerva initiative, a program designed to integrate drones into its operations.

“The Canadian Army soldier will face an increasingly complex and dangerous battlespace in the future," one of the drone tenders said.