The bountiful harvest: Thousands of visitors flock to St. Norbert Farmers’ Market every Saturday

While most of Winnipeg is still sleeping, or perhaps just starting to think about making the morning coffee, a patch of shade and sun just south of the Perimeter Highway is already humming with life.

Government wants public input on use of AI

The province says it’s taking the lead when it comes to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, but is it moving in the right direction?

Giant Tiger to close downtown, area residents bemoan dwindling grocery options

One of the only remaining grocery-store options for people living downtown and in the Exchange District is closing its doors.

Minister says changes to Nutrition North program set to roll out in the fall

OTTAWA - Northern Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand says changes to the Nutrition North program are coming this fall, but they won't be limited to subsidies to reduce the cost of food in the North.

Instead, Chartrand said, the federal government is looking at all options to help reduce food insecurity in the region, including strengthening local supply chains and supporting harvesters.

Nutrition North provides money to retailers to help bring down the high cost of groceries in 124 communities. Some retailers have been accused of not applying the full subsidy to the items they sell.

The federal government says it has been reviewing the program to strengthen the food economy, restructure governance and reform subsidies.

Get a little culture: Folklorama celebrates 55 years

You never have to wait more than a week in Winnipeg during summer for the next major festival.

And you never have to venture very far during Folklorama, which begins Sunday, before running into another church, community centre or curling club humming with music, food and cultural dress.

In sheer scale, it’s the most transformative festival Winnipeg has.

Featuring 45 pavilions this year, its 55th, Folklorama launched Wednesday at a news conference at The Forks. (The official kickoff is Sunday at Assiniboine Park’s Lyric Theatre and Field at 4 p.m., the only chance to see all the Pavilion Ambassadors in one spot.) The event also featured a citizen ceremony for several dozen new Canadians, presided over by Canada’s first Métis citizenship judge, Suzanne Carrière.

Poll suggests some Liberal supporters concerned about climate policy are leaning NDP

OTTAWA - A new online poll from the Angus Reid Institute suggests that one in six 2025 Liberal voters now say they would support the NDP.

The pollster found that half of these voters cite climate change as the issue that concerns them most. The poll also found that these voters are three times more likely to be concerned about inequality, with 34 per cent of red-orange switchers listing it as a priority compared to 10 per cent who are staying in the Liberal tent.

Angus Reid reports that 21 per cent of respondents nationally say that climate change is a top concern, an increase from the 14 per cent recorded just four months ago. The pollster said that wildfire season is a "stark reminder" of the threat climate change poses in a write up of its findings.

NDP Leader Avi Lewis told The Canadian Press Tuesday that he's been hearing from Liberals in Montreal are now looking to support his party.

Ottawa opening exports office as part of strategy to diversify trade

OTTAWA - The federal government is opening a new strategic exports office as part of its plan to diversify trade.

The office, announced in Budget 2025, will be housed under Global Affairs Canada and will be tasked with removing trade irritants, lifting market access barriers and addressing infrastructure gaps.

The government says the office will help Canada secure international business opportunities in sectors that include aerospace, defence, infrastructure and energy.

International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told a press conference Thursday the office will help Canada's "best companies win the biggest contracts in the toughest markets around the world."

New Indigenous languages commissioner says her job is to support incoming leadership

OTTAWA - The interim head of the Indigenous languages commission, which is now facing a federal audit, says her job is to support new leadership to ensure a fresh start for the institution.

Candice St-Aubin, who left her job as a senior federal public servant to take on the interim commissioner's role, said on social media it's deeply meaningful work that "asks much of the mind, heart and spirit."

"I do not approach this work as temporary. The responsibility to support the preservation, revitalization, and strengthening of Indigenous languages in Canada does not pause while institutional processes continue," St-Aubin wrote.

"While the formal process will determine the leadership team that follows, I see my role as helping support those who will welcome them and ensuring they can begin their work on a strong and respectful foundation."

Shoppers flock to the frozen aisle as fresh vegetable prices soar: Loblaw

Consumers are looking for savings in the frozen vegetable aisle at Loblaw banners as prices of fresh produce have spiked in recent months.

"It's more than (five percentage points) growth in the frozen veg in our hard discount banner," Loblaw Cos. Ltd. chief executive Per Bank told analysts on a second-quarter earnings call on Thursday. Hard discount largely refers to the company's No Frills and Maxi chains.

"Those customers who shop there, they are trying to mitigate their inflation."

Affordability continues to drive buying decisions as consumers contend with high gasoline and food prices.

Report draws link between missing Indigenous women and trafficking across Canada

A new analysis of online sex advertisements featuring Indigenous women has identified cross-country corridors that are highly indicative of sex trafficking, while revealing insight into how women and girls are exploited in Winnipeg.

Temporary foreign workers rally to stay

Close to 100 temporary foreign workers, mainly from China, whose time in Canada is running out, rallied on the steps of the Manitoba legislature Tuesday to raise awareness of their situation.

They arrived in Manitoba before the federal government cut immigration levels — when international students and temporary foreign workers had a shot at becoming permanent residents if they met the requirements to stay, said Ruby Lu.

“We come here for a few years and we work for a few years, pay taxes. Some of us are already bought a house,” said Lu, whose work permit expires at the end of the year.

“So if our (permit) expires, we don’t know what to do,” she said in front of demonstrators holding signs with messages including “we love Manitoba” and “bring back TPP” — the temporary public policy used by the Manitoba provincial nominee program to support open work permits and prioritize permanent residency for select candidates.

Canadian Copper expands New Brunswick mining operation, over 100 jobs expected

FREDERICTON - The New Brunswick government says a mineral development company is expanding its mining operations in the province's northeast.

The government says Canadian Copper Inc. has acquired the defunct Caribou Mine site through the receivership proceedings of previous owner Trevali Mining Ltd.

The province on Tuesday said the company plans to use the site's mill to process copper, zinc and other minerals that could be mined from the nearby Murray Brook mine site, which it already owns.

Canadian Copper will also take over care and maintenance of the Caribou Mine, along with the associated costs, according to a news release from the provincial government.

Alberta to begin allowing self-referred medical testing as of Friday

CALGARY - Beginning Friday, Albertans will be able to pay out of pocket for diagnostic screening tests, including an MRI and an ultrasound, and without a doctor's referral.

The new change can help those who pay get a faster cancer diagnosis, and improve their chances of survival, without increasing wait times for others, the government said Monday.

Premier Danielle Smith said Albertans can self-refer, because they have a pretty good idea of when something isn't right.

"We just want to put the power in the hands of the patient so that they can get those peace-of-mind tests and hopefully get the all-clear," she said.

Manitoba Hydro’s energy plan set to be scrutinized

Manitoba Hydro is set to face questions and concerns over its plan for the province’s future energy needs, which includes proposed natural gas-powered turbines in Brandon and Indigenous-owned wind farms.

The Public Utilities Board, an arm’s-length regulator, will begin six weeks of hearings Monday into the 10-year blueprint and potential ways to satisfy electricity demand, while Hydro grapples with a projected energy shortfall, debt of $25 billion and aging infrastructure.

“The development plan reflects the best available information and analysis of how Manitoba Hydro can meet growing energy demand, while balancing factors we know are important to our customers, including cost, reliability and the environment,” Peter Chura, a spokesman for the Crown corporation, told the Free Press.

“We are confident in our analysis and that we’ve appropriately balanced reliability, affordability, safety and risk.”

Together Project helps newcomers feel at home

When refugee families first arrive in Winnipeg they are plunged into an alien culture.

Often fleeing dangerous circumstances, discrimination or war, displaced families are forced to navigate bewildering societal norms and cultural expectations in an unfamiliar environment.

It can often feel utterly overwhelming.

And while government settlement agencies are an invaluable foundational resource, nothing can replace human connection and peer-to-peer guidance.

Gordie Howe bridge opens to cars after months of cross-border controversy

The Gordie Howe International Bridge opened to motorists Monday after months of controversy over financial aspects of the project.

Officials announced in a post on social media just after noon that the Howe family had crossed first, in honour of the bridge's Canadian-American hockey namesake.

Minutes later, another post marked the crossing of the first commercial truck, a vehicle from a trucking company in Tecumseh, Ont., that was carrying auto parts to Michigan.

As the sunny afternoon went on, cars and transport trucks brought a stream of inaugural crossings.

An eroding Winnipeg neighbourhood looks to new foundations

The lot Jesse Bettcher lives on in Winnipeg's North End used to be a pile of burnt rubble. Same with the one next door. And the one across the street. But he's now the proud owner of a two-storey house with blue-grey siding and white trim.

‘Bright’ future: RCAF chief says spike in defence spending is boosting flight times

OTTAWA - One year into her new job as commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet said she could see an immediate effect of the federal government's defence spending boost: RCAF pilots are spending more time in the air.

In a recent interview with The Canadian Press, Speiser-Blanchet also acknowledged that preparing the entire service for what she described as a rapid and "giant transformation" — rebuilding the whole plane while it's flying, so to speak — sometimes gives her pause.

"It's that pace of change sometimes that worries me a little," she said.

She said while she’s "very comfortable" with the decisions made preparing for modernization, it's "the thought that there's something we should be doing now to make sure that we're set up for success in the future and that we're missing it" that keeps her up at night.

For unique Menno-centric take on Free Press, satirist mines her jibes between the lines

Free Press readers of a certain vintage may remember when tuning into a local radio station to hear a pair of disc jockeys perusing a section of the Saturday edition was appointment listening.

On Sunday mornings from 1962 until the mid-1980s, CKRC 630 personalities Bob Washington and Tom Ashmore — better known as Wash and Ash — entertained Winnipeggers of all ages by impersonating the likes of Dennis the Menace, Beetle Bailey and Archie Andrews, as they lent their voices to that weekend’s multi-page, colour comic insert.

In a 1984 interview, Washington, who died in 2016 at the age of 82, attributed the weekly program’s longevity to audiences enjoying the antics of “two middle-aged guys in 24 dialects, giving their version of what Dagwood is saying to Blondie, or what Hägar the Horrible is bragging about.”

More than 40 years later, another Winnipegger is turning to the Free Press for her material. Only instead of reading the paper’s funnies, Lori Klassen, a mother of three and grandmother of two, is funnily reading the paper.

‘Too big to rig’: Alberta separation petition succeeds with 223K verified signatures

EDMONTON - A citizen-led petition seeking to force a vote on Alberta quitting Canada is officially successful.

Elections Alberta announced Friday it verified nearly 223,000 signatures out of almost 280,000 valid names counted. The petition needed almost 178,000 signatures to be successful.

Despite the result, the document is largely moot.

It was quashed in court in May, although the ruling is being appealed by those behind the petition campaign as well as by Premier Danielle Smith's government.

Canada, UAE conclude negotiations on a free-trade agreement

OTTAWA - The governments of Canada and the United Arab Emirates say they have concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement.

International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told a press conference in Toronto on Friday that the next steps include legal review, the signing of the deal and ratification.

"It's been a busy couple of days. We've been at it negotiating and we literally just walked out of the room with the final touches," Sidhu said.

Sidhu said the government has been working to expand its partnership with the UAE and that while the conflict in the Middle East delayed the start of negotiations, his team was determined to reach an agreement.