Who will vote for trees?

In July 2026, Terrasse-Vaudreuil, a small Quebec town, made international headlines.

And no, it wasn’t the result of murder and mayhem or a catastrophic flood. The headlines were about a remarkable resolution passed by its town council, making Terrasse-Vaudreuil the first city in the world to recognize the rights of trees.

Not falling back means time loop remains unclosed

That hour you sacrificed to the sun gods in the spring? Gone. Not coming back. We’ve sprung forward and we shan’t be falling back — not in November, and (possibly) not ever. The scale shall remain unbalanced and the loop shall remain unclosed as Manitoba has adopted permanent daylight time.

Winnipeg, source d’inspiration pour la philanthropie canadienne

Dirigé par le Franco-Manitobain d’origine Jean-Marc Mangin, l’organisme Fondations philanthropiques du Canada (FPC) sera à Winnipeg du 23 au 25 septembre prochains pour sa conférence nationale, organisée tous les deux ans. Une première pour FPC, et un retour au bercail attendu pour son président-directeur général.

Pour la première fois depuis 26 ans que l’organisme existe, FPC a choisi le Manitoba pour sa grande conférence nationale de 2026. “On a été dans plusieurs gros centres urbains du Canada, notamment Ottawa, Montréal, Toronto, Vancouver ou encore Calgary, mais ce sera notre première fois à Winnipeg,” se réjouit le PDG de FPC, Jean-Marc Mangin, lui-même originaire de Saint-Boniface.

Ce n’est toutefois pas la nostalgie de l’enfance qui a fait pencher la balance en faveur du Manitoba, mais plutôt un vent de changement observé par bon nombre dans la capitale manitobaine.

“Nous ne sommes pas les seuls dans le secteur caritatif à choisir Winnipeg,” constate Jean-Marc Mangin. “Plusieurs organismes y tiennent leurs conférences nationales cette année ou la suivante. Et ça, ça dit quelque chose sur ce qui se passe au Manitoba : c’est très actif, il y a beaucoup d’innovation sociale qui prend place.”

Vintage ride revs up rainbow-hued appeal of fresh-cut-flower venture

Since the beginning of July, a Manitoba entrepreneur has been keeping busy, putting the petal to the metal.

Magwyer Herring is the founder of River’s Garden Co., a boutique venture offering fresh-cut flowers plucked from her and her husband Gerry’s three-acre property near Howden, south of the Perimeter Highway. Named for their seven-year-old son River, River’s Garden Co. has been turning heads for its rainbow assortment of zinnias, dahlias, roses and snap dragons, not to mention the distinctive manner in which Herring displays her mélange: from the back of a restored 1958 Chevrolet Apache pickup truck.

“The truck is definitely what draws folks in for starters, only as soon they notice the flowers, they’re like, wow, is that ever cool,” Herring says, standing next to her arresting, turquoise-and-white ride during a recent street festival in downtown Winnipeg.

It turns out that a green thumb is part of the 34-year-old’s DNA. Her maternal great-grandfather started his own fruit company, Talarico Fruits, in the early 1900s. As a child, her late mother helped out with the family biz and also worked for a similar operation in Kelowna, B.C., after moving west 15 years ago. That being said, Herring, the youngest of four siblings, was always more drawn to pools than garden plots while growing up in the West End.

Soul candles ritual connects women to the past

On one evening every fall during the 10 Days of Awe — the solemn period of reflection and repentance between the Jewish holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — Jane Enkin sits down with a group of women in her Winnipeg home to make candles. The making of the candles is not simply for fun or creative expression — although it serves those purposes as well—but is, rather, an intentional re-enactment of an ancient and little-known High Holiday spiritual ritual.

That ritual is neshome likht, the crafting of ceremonial soul candles.

The making of soul candles during the High Holiday season was common practice among Ashkenazie or Eastern European Jewish women beginning in the 12th century. The candles were made for the souls of both the living and the dead, and often were customized with special wicks made from threads that were used, in another ancient custom, to measure Jewish cemeteries. The measuring of the cemeteries was seen as a way to connect to the deceased in the weeks leading up to Yom Kippur so that those who had already passed might prevail upon God to include their loved ones’ names in the Book of Life.

While the practice of measuring cemeteries has largely fallen by the wayside, the making of soul candles, or the laying of wicks, has managed to survive over the centuries and has enjoyed a significant resurgence in modern times.

A humpback whale was spotted in a California river, 60 miles from its Pacific Ocean home

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Denny Glover was hoping for a big catch when he went fishing with buddies on the Sacramento River, but he wasn't expecting a fully grown humpback whale.

Glover saw the whale surfacing on Wednesday while he was fishing for salmon and striped bass from a 21-foot (6.4-meter) boat, less than half the length of the animal. He shot a few videos as the whale broke the surface of the water in California's largest river, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) from its more typical home of the Pacific Ocean.

“One of the guys on the boat, he said, ‘I see a whale.’ He saw the spout,” Glover said. “At first we didn't believe it. We thought he had mistaken a dolphin or a porpoise. Then we saw the spout again, and there's no mistaking a whale spout.”

The rare inland visit from a whale has attracted the attention of scientists who want to know what kind of condition it's in and how it wound up so far from the sea. The whale entered San Francisco Bay earlier in the week and has been traveling east in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California's largest river delta, The Marine Mammal Center said in a statement.

Experts say small companions play huge role in well-being as we age

My mother-in-law will turn 89 this year and she’s in love. In her rural home — where she’s lived for more than 60 years — her new roommate, a kitten named Pepper, has brought sheer joy to her world.

She regales my partner with play-by-plays of Pepper’s antics and activities. She repeatedly expresses how happy she is since Pepper moved in. She can’t imagine her world without him. They’re inseparable.

With the huge role tiny Pepper now plays in her life, calls to our home are less frequent, as she immerses herself in playing with Pepper, cleaning up after him and just delighting in his every move. Pepper has given her a renewed sense of happiness and purpose, keeping her mind on the present and free of worry.

And though a kitten is an unusual choice for a senior, experts agree that a pet of any age will benefit immensely from someone regularly being at home with them, the same way my mother-in-law’s quality of life has been enhanced by Pepper’s presence.

Northern First Nation calls for voluntary ban of moose hunting as numbers dwindle

A northern Manitoba First Nation is calling for a voluntary closure of moose hunting in its traditional territory to protect the declining population and respond to what it sees is a lack of provincial intervention.

On Friday, Misipawistik Cree Nation issued a plea urging hunters to abstain from harvesting moose in provincial Game Hunting Area 10 — a 10,000-square-kilometre region of boreal forest north of Grand Rapids. The request applies to this year’s moose-hunting seasons, which open Monday.

According to the province’s 2025 aerial big-game survey, an estimated 281 moose reside in the area, roughly 60 of which are bull moose. That’s down from an estimated 346 moose in 2013, which the survey describes as a “relatively stable population” over the past decade.

This year, 124 licences and 62 bull moose tags were made available in the region during Manitoba’s annual hunting draw.

Scientists hope deeper-rooted soybeans can withstand climate extremes and store more carbon

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Research scientist Ashish Rajurkar kneels in the dirt, lifting a large clod of soil tangled around a soybean plant. He knocks away pieces of earth from the plant's roots, which slope straight down instead of out to the side like typical soybean plants.

Researchers hope roots like these could help crops withstand some effects of climate change while also drawing more carbon from the atmosphere and storing it underground. Carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels traps heat in the atmosphere, driving human-caused climate change.

For years, scientists have explored ways to remove some of that carbon from the atmosphere, including through direct air capture, changes to ocean chemistry so seawater can absorb more carbon, and reforestation. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies are testing whether deeper root systems could become another tool.

But scientists still need to show how much additional carbon those roots can store under real farming conditions, how long the carbon would remain underground and whether the crops can maintain yields.

Dollar breakfasts, used Billy bookcases: Ikea’s latest affordability pitch

From second-hand Billy bookcases to cheaper meals, Ikea is leaning into its low-cost roots as cash-strapped Canadians look for more affordable ways to furnish their homes and feed their families.

The Swedish retailer says it's doubling down on affordability by expanding its used-furniture business, keeping restaurant prices low and wringing savings from sustainable product design and supply chain efficiencies.

Two of Ikea’s top executives sat down with The Canadian Press to discuss how the retailer is trying to deliver more value as Canadians grapple with high costs for housing, food and other expenses.

Ikea Canada chief executive and chief sustainability officer Selwyn Crittendon said the retailer’s sell-back program, which gives customers store credit for gently used Ikea furniture that is then resold, is growing quickly.

United Way, other charities fight for dollars as donor base shrinks

Winnipeg’s charitable sector is being squeezed from both sides: demand for help is growing while the pool of donors to meet that need is shrinking.

The imbalance is increasingly being carried by a relatively small group of deep-pocketed donors. Last year, 600 people — about three per cent of United Way Winnipeg’s individual donors — accounted for roughly $8 million, or 55 per cent of individual donations.

The fundraising pitch isn’t getting any easier.

Homelessness and public drug use have become increasingly visible, household budgets remain strained and the problems charities are trying to address can seem so entrenched that donors may reasonably wonder what difference another contribution can make.

Fiddling and a jig mark ceremony to rename Wolseley-area school

Beckoned by a fiddle, students broke out into a jig behind Little Bluestem School on Thursday evening to mark the end of a multi-year renaming process.

“I couldn’t help myself. I just had to dance,” eight-year-old Stevie Morrison said at a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the new signage at 511 Clifton St., formerly known as Wolseley School.

Stevie and Fallon Lovelace Sharkey, 7, were out of breath after bouncing up and down to the beat, attempting to execute the Red River Métis dance moves they were taught at school.

There were cheers and tears as adults watched jigging on school grounds once named after a man who did not believe in Métis peoples’ right to self-determination.

Manitobans mostly optimistic about time change

Turning the page on turning back the clocks in Manitoba was met with enthusiasm — and some hesitation — Thursday.

Calling the move “perfect,” the general manager of Larters at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club said a switch to permanent standard time would have hurt men’s and women’s golf leagues.

The course could have tried to open an hour earlier, but some after-work leagues may have been forced to cancel owing to not enough daylight.

“It would get dark too early and people can’t leave work early to go play an hour earlier,” said Geoff Kehler. “It would have been really bad for the business.”

Kinew delivered what most of us wanted; now we’ll have to deal with the consequences

Premier Wab Kinew has decided to adopt permanent daylight savings time, which means a permanent end to the spring forward, fall back tradition of adjusting our clocks. And absolutely no one is surprised.

A quick look at where provinces and territories stand on time changes

WINNIPEG - Manitoba's government said Thursday the province will be sticking with daylight time year-round, making it the latest jurisdiction to move away from twice-annual time changes. Here's a look at where things stand across Canada:

British Columbia said in March that it was moving to permanent Pacific daylight time. The change also means that parts of northeastern B.C., which have been on mountain standard time year round, are now in alignment with the rest of the province.

Alberta also switched to permanent daylight time this year in what it calls Alberta time. The change means it now has the same time as Saskatchewan year round.

Saskatchewan has been on permanent central standard time since 1966.

Snowbird replacements ‘extremely manoeuverable, powerful,’ RCAF commander says

GATINEAU - The Royal Canadian Air Force welcomed on Thursday the first two of its new trainer aircraft, the CT-157 Siskin II — the same planes that will replace the old Tutor jets flown by the Snowbirds aerial demonstration team.

The turboprop planes will soon be headed to 15 Wing Moose Jaw, where the air force eventually will station 19 of them to serve as its main training fleet.

Acquiring the Siskin II, also known as the Pilatus PC-21, is part of the RCAF's plan to modernize its fleets and overhaul its training.

RCAF Commander Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet said the modern aircraft are well suited both to aerial acrobatics and to preparing pilots for the more advanced aircraft the air force is bringing online.

Great Dane stretchered off mountain near Revelstoke, B.C., in unusual rescue

REVELSTOKE - Search crews in the British Columbia Interior backcountry made an unusual rescue this week when they stretchered a Great Dane off a mountain trail.

Revelstoke Search and Rescue says in a statement on social media that they were called Sunday evening to Mt. Macpherson after two owners reported the massive dog had torn its paw pads on a hike.

Rescuers say the owners were exhausted from trying to get the 10-year-old dog off the mountain, and were not prepared for overnight stays in alpine terrain as evening temperatures dropped toward freezing.

Pictures shared by the group show the grey and white Great Dane lying with her head up and her front paws bandaged, receiving pats on a wheeled basket stretcher that rescuers say gave her "a first-class ride" back to the trailhead.

Manitoba abandoning spring, fall clock changes

Manitobans won’t be setting their clocks back an hour in November. The province has decided to permanently stay on daylight time after surveying residents on the twice annual clock adjustment.

Rain causing poor harvest conditions for farmers

BRANDON — Farmers are dealing with poor harvest conditions owing to the high amount of rain this month.

Brandon had received 74.7 millimetres of rain by Sept. 15, a spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada said Wednesday. The amount is equal to 173 per cent of average rainfall for Brandon.

The wet conditions are causing crop loss and delays in harvesting, several Westman farmers said this week.

“At this point, it (could be) six figures of loss. And that all happens in days,” Cassandra Lepp, a Rivers-area wheat and canola farmer, said. “We have good crops out there, and they are disappearing.”

A community brought the Trident Press home

A truck pulled up outside Oseredok a few weeks ago carrying more than an exhibition. Inside were the panels of Ukrainian Voice: A Legacy Mosaic, a monumental artwork built from the printing blocks once used to reproduce the photographs and illustrations in one of Canada’s longest-running Ukrainian newspapers.

The T. rex had a body temperature similar to our own, study finds

NEW YORK (AP) — Using fossilized teeth, scientists have finally taken the T. rex's temperature — and it wasn't too different from our own.

Researchers once thought that dinosaurs were sluggish, cold-blooded creatures. Later findings challenged that, suggesting that older dinosaurs were warm-blooded and could control their body temperature.

Most scientists agree that Tyrannosaurus rex was warm-blooded, but pinning down the exact core temperature of an extinct creature is difficult.

“We can't just use a thermometer to do that,” said Jasmina Wiemann, a paleobiologist at Johns Hopkins University who had no role in the latest work.

Food literacy curriculum on the menu

Manitoba has a new recipe for health class and “food literacy” is a key ingredient.

The in-class portion of phys-ed has historically involved lessons about puberty, the risks of consuming drugs and dissecting Canada’s food guide.

A new pilot program asks teachers to expand their nutrition units and include in-depth discussions about how everything from diet culture to food insecurity affects eating habits.

“This is really moving beyond a conception of food as only fuel, where you just boil down food to its calories, its vitamins,” said Sarah Elvins, a food historian at the University of Manitoba who researches popular culture and marketing.

Putting together annual fashion show takes many hard-working hands

A frenzy of activity is taking place behind the closed doors of WAG-Qaumajuq on Monday. It’s the day before Crafted on the Catwalk, the gallery’s annual fashion and design show, and the clock is ticking.

There’s less than 30 hours before the big event and it’s all hands on deck.

A steady stream of people walk in and out of the Memorial Boulevard entrance towards the main hall, which glows in soft hues as technicians test out lighting equipment.

The ground floor is teeming with people lugging chairs and pushing trolleys. A stream of white material unravelling from its roll prompts a shouted “OK to step on this?” and receives an equally loud ‘No!” in reply, voices raised above the metallic buzz of a drill as staff from a local production company put together seats.