Smith’s pretzel logic confuses

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had both sides of her mouth working overtime on Aug. 30, when she spoke at an event in Calgary to commemorate Alberta Day, the annual celebration of the province’s entry into Confederation in 1905 (officially Sept. 1, it was celebrated on the weekend).

Smith’s comments — and the things she did not say — revealed a lot about the political tightrope the premier is trying to walk over the challenges currently faced by her province. At the top of that list of challenges is a persistent campaign to separate Alberta from the aforementioned Confederation. A campaign that Smith appears to both support and oppose, depending on which day of the week it is.

Her Alberta Day remarks were an excellent case in point.

Smith has decided that on Oct. 19, Albertans will vote on a series of non-binding propositions in a province referendum. One of those questions will ask Albertans whether they want to hold a referendum on separation, thus making this fall’s vote a “referendum on whether to hold a referendum,” as some observers have dubbed it.

‘Quite a journey’: dozens move into transitional housing downtown

Dozens of residents have moved into transitional housing units in a former university building in downtown Winnipeg.

Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said 42 residents have moved into suites on the third and fourth floors of a seven-storey building previously owned by Providence University College and Theological Seminary. There will be space for as many as 118 people who were in encampments or otherwise homeless.

The remaining units under renovation are expected to be ready and occupied in the coming weeks, Smith said.

“This has been two years in the making,” the minister said at a media event with residents, staff, neighbours and supporters. The building cost the province $24.4 million to purchase and renovate.

How to make National Day for Truth and Reconciliation personal

It’s September — the month that culminates in the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

For Indigenous communities, the last day of September used the be the day the Indian agent, the priest or the RCMP arrived to remove children from their homes and take them to residential school.

Nowadays, Sept. 30 is the day Canadians show up to prove that history will never be repeated.

This is the fifth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and the annual event has quickly become one of the most important and highly participatory days in the country.

Councillors want city to revamp homeless camp approach

Three Winnipeg councillors say the city uses lack of housing as an excuse to drop the ball on managing public spaces affected by the homeless crisis.

Sherri Rollins, Cindy Gilroy and John Orlikow want bureaucrats to develop a co-ordinated, proportionate and measured approach to maintaining safe, accessible and usable public spaces.

On Friday, they put forward a motion at the final city centre committee meeting before the Oct. 28 election. Gilroy is the only one seeking re-election, in the Daniel McIntyre ward.

“Right now, we have de facto designated encampments. We have increasing social disorder that much of the sector is pointing toward our own policy and blaming it for causing the disruption to the whole entirety of the city and spreading the problem,” said Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).

Mayoral candidate Gillingham vows building boom; Vogiatzakis, Woodstock promise improved safety

Scott Gillingham promised several new steps to help get more homes and businesses built in Winnipeg Friday, if re-elected as mayor, amid other pledges from his competition.

Insurance money spent, family waits for provincial flood aid

Three months after a once-in-a-lifetime rainstorm battered her home and caused extensive flooding, J’aime Killbery is still picking up the pieces while she waits for financial relief from the provincial government.

Killbery lives in Balmoral, north of Stonewall, in the rural municipality of Rockwood, one of the communities hardest-hit by the June 9 deluge. The RM declared a state of emergency after a record-breaking 250 mm of rainfall caused sewer backups and overland flooding.

The damage to the family home was immense. Their fully finished basement was destroyed by sewage water, meaning the walls and flooring needed to be ripped out and replaced.

While family is handling some repairs themselves to cut costs, every repair is expensive, Killbery said.

Federal Tories launch ‘Conservatives for Canada’ campaign ahead of Alberta referendum

OTTAWA - The federal Conservatives have launched a campaign to engage their supporters and encourage them to vote to stay in Canada in the upcoming Alberta referendum.

Albertans are set to vote on Oct. 19 on whether they want to remain a province or begin the legal process to hold a binding referendum on leaving the country.

In a speech he delivered in Calgary this summer, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called for Albertans to stay united and argued that separatists have a problem not with Canada but with the Liberal government.

"We don't need a different country in Alberta, we need different government policies in Ottawa," Poilievre said on June 8.

NDP minister needs lesson in political civility

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine’s decision to intercede in Winnipeg’s mayoral election may be surprising to some political observers. To others, however, it is entirely on brand.

On Tuesday, Fontaine posted a video on social media in which she expressed concern that former city councillor and Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Kevin Klein was entering the race to challenge incumbent Mayor Scott Gillingham.

The caption on the video was blunt: “I mean, really, who chooses to work for Count Dracula?”

“Kevin Klein once worked for Peter Nygard. Peter Nygard is Canada’s equivalent to (American sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein — had his own little island, did unspeakable, disgusting things to women and girls … anyways, I just thought that Winnipeggers would want to know that Kevin Klein, at one point, worked for Peter Nygard,” she says in the video.

Gander, N.L., defends invitation to U.S. ambassador Hoekstra to 9/11 commemoration

ST. JOHN'S - The Town of Gander, N.L., says its invitation to United States Ambassador Pete Hoekstra to attend a 9/11 ceremony this month was protocol, not an endorsement.

Hoekstra is among a list of dignitaries attending the town’s commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

News of his attendance prompted strong reactions online, as well as an article in satirical news site The Beaverton, titled “Come from Away sequel will see Newfoundlanders put the friggin’ boots to Pete Hoekstra.”

“Come From Away” is a hit musical about how the people of Gander fed, clothed and cared for more than 6,500 air passengers who were stranded there for days after the 9/11 attacks.

Politicians who harp on Klein’s history with Nygard do so at their own peril

It was probably the easiest prediction to make in Winnipeg politics this week: the moment Kevin Klein officially entered the mayoral race, someone would bring up Peter Nygard.

Sure enough, they did.

And it was led by Klein’s chief political opponent in this race, Mayor Scott Gillingham, who called Klein a “fixer” for the convicted sex offender.

None of this is particularly surprising.

PQ leader says his immigration comments were ‘distorted’ by opponents in campaign

MONTREAL - Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said comments he has made about immigration have been "distorted" by his opponents as Quebec's political parties wrapped up the second week of the provincial election campaign on Friday.

Immigration and anglophone rights took centre stage over the week as leaders continued to campaign ahead of the Oct. 5 provincial election.

The Parti Québécois, which has maintained its lead in the polls despite growing support for the governing Coalition Avenir Québec, is facing criticism after St-Pierre Plamondon stirred up controversy with comments about immigrants in schools.

In recent days, the PQ leader has linked immigration to overcrowded schools and the decline of the French language. On Saturday, he held a press conference outside a Quebec City high school where modular classrooms are being used to accommodate students.

Manitoba association pitches CentrePort for national food terminal

A Manitoba association is vying for federal dollars to build a major food terminal as Ottawa unrolls its national food security strategy.

Michael Mikulak, head of industry advocate group Food & Beverage Manitoba, said he’s in talks with several federal departments.

He’s envisioning a 120,000-square-foot site at CentrePort Canada, the trimodal inland port spanning parts of Winnipeg and the Rural Municipality of Rosser.

About 15,000 sq. ft. would become a production-focused commercial kitchen for Manitoba companies to rent as they grow. A warehouse to store and distribute food — from Manitoba and elsewhere — would consume most of the building, Mikulak said.

Province announces free daycare for low-income families

Eligible parents will have their child-care fees waived come Sept. 13.

SOCAN sues Suno, alleges AI company copies Canadian music without paying creators

Canada’s largest member-owned music rights organization is suing U.S. artificial intelligence company Suno, alleging the AI music generator copied songs in its repertoire — including Nickelback’s 2005 hit “Photograph” — without permission or compensation.

Apple begins replacing Lake Ontario with ‘Lake America’ on maps app for U.S. users

WASHINGTON - Apple is changing its Maps app to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America" for users in the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order to change the name of the Great Lake.

"Apple Maps has just announced that it has changed the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, so now that very important change of names, between Google Maps and Apple Maps, is complete, ratified, and binding" Trump posted on social media Wednesday. "Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told the Fox Business network Monday that Trump reached out directly to Apple to ensure the new name would be used on its service.

People in Canada who use Apple Maps still see the lake identified as Lake Ontario.

Élections Québec says it’s too late to print voter documents in English

MONTREAL - Élections Québec says it is too late to make changes to the unilingual French documents it is mailing to voters ahead of the Oct. 5 election despite facing backlash from the anglophone community.

The provincial elections authority was reacting to comments made by Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette, who said she is in discussions with Élections Québec to determine the next steps.

"We will see what our obligations are," Fréchette said.

The unilingual documents have prompted an outcry from advocacy groups representing anglophones in Quebec, who say they are creating an unnecessary barrier for voters.

Long-term care best when public

Long-term care remains in crisis in Manitoba. As a result, too many Manitobans fear what will happen to them and their relatives as they age and develop more complex health needs.

Chefs gather in St. Boniface to see whose version of jollof is best

Chef Alex Bockarie is bringing an age-old African culinary battle to Winnipeg.

On Saturday, five local chefs hailing from Senegal, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria will go head-to-head to determine who makes the best jollof — a rice dish simmered in a savoury tomato-based stew.

“Jollof rice originated from Senegal but it has spread throughout West Africa and every country has its own method of cooking it,” Bockarie says. “It’s a long-standing fight; even among the communities here in Winnipeg, everybody’s always saying that Sierra Leone’s (jollof) is the best, Ghana’s is the best, Nigeria’s is the best.

“It’s a friendly competition; friendly, but very serious too.”

‘One-stop powwow shop’: Trail Creations opens doors to traditional, ceremonial clothing

Spoons hang on the wall — small, silver and, unlike most items in the shop, not for sale.

One from Saskatchewan, another from Florida. Each represents a place Jessica Lavallee and her family visited during a powwow circuit. The 32,000-kilometre trek led Jessica to 3096 Portage Ave.

She opened Trail Creations, a Winnipeg store selling materials to make traditional Indigenous garb, in the space last month.

“We want it to be a one-stop powwow shop,” Lavallee said.

A closer look at five standout Canadian titles headed to TIFF 2026

TORONTO - When writer-director David Bezmozgis set out to adapt his 2014 novel "The Betrayers" for the big screen, he wasn't just changing its format. He also had to adjust to a new geopolitical landscape.

The film, which is set in Ukraine and Israel, is one of 61 Canadian features and shorts programmed at this year's edition of the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Canadian Press spoke to Bezmozgis and four other homegrown directors about their films.

THE BETRAYERSBezmozgis's second novel was an unmitigated hit when it was published. It made numerous best-of-the-year lists — from the Wall Street Journal to the New Yorker — and was shortlisted for the Giller Prize.

Schwartz’s Deli swaps black cherry soda for local alternative as U.S. tariffs bite

On a typical summer day at Schwartz’s Deli, in Montreal, there's a lineup at the door as tourists and locals wait to get their smoked-meat sandwich. But now, something has changed.