Aftermath of an inferno In pictures: Wildfire destruction at Lac du Bonnet's Wendigo Beach By: Photography by Mikaela MacKenzie Posted: 5:00 PM CDT Friday, May. 23, 2025

Students in Manitoba are facing additional costs at a time when many are already struggling with the rising cost of living, despite repeated promises from the provincial government to make life more affordable.

In the March 2026 Manitoba Budget, the provincial government permitted post-secondary institutions to increase domestic tuition by up to the legislated maximum of four per cent for the 2026-2027 academic year, despite students already facing rising housing costs, food insecurity, growing debt and an increasingly difficult labour market.

However, all hope was not lost — the decision on how much to raise tuition still rested with the institutions themselves. Much like a speed limit, the four per cent increase was the maximum, not necessarily the target.

Like with speed limits, however, the maximum became the target, as boards of the University of Winnipeg, Brandon University and the University of Manitoba decided to raise tuition by the maximum allowable four per cent. Meanwhile, provincial operating funding to post-secondary institutions increased by only two per cent.

A case of hepatitis A was recently diagnosed at Shaughnessy Park School in northwest Winnipeg, with parents, guardians, students and staff advised to monitor for symptoms until Nov 3.

An immunization clinic will be held at the school, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said in a letter to parents, guardians and staff Friday. The school has students in nursery to Grade 8.

Manitoba Health has been monitoring an increase in cases of hepatitis A — an acute liver infection — with 1,004 reported between September 2024 and Sept. 10, 2026. The province said 257 hospitalizations, eight intensive care unit admissions and seven deaths were reported during that period.

"While the rate of cases in the Winnipeg health region increased in the spring and has remained stable since then, there has been a decreasing trend in the rest of the province," a provincial spokesperson said in a statement.

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