News briefs for Thursday, March 26, 2026

Credit rating agency paints rosy picture of budget

6:36 PM

Manitoba’s latest budget is on track to eliminate deficits by 2027-28, a global credit rating agency reports.

Morningstar DBRS published its commentary following Manitoba’s release of the provincial budget Tuesday.

“The New Democratic Party government appears committed to its goal of returning to balance by 2027-28,” the report says.

The NDP pledged to balance the budget by the 2027 election during their 2023 campaign run.

The province projects a $498-million deficit during the 2026-27 fiscal year. Net debt-to-GDP could peak at 38.2 per cent, Budget 2026 says.

Morningstar believes a softer economic outlook, extreme weather events and trade disruptions could hamper the government’s fiscal targets.

“Modest contingencies” in the budget and Manitoba’s diverse economy could help mitigate trade disruption pressures, the agency noted.

It called Manitoba’s net debt-to-GDP “manageable.” Refinancing and capital needs will make borrowing more expensive in coming years, Morningstar said.

Public capital spending should bolster economic activity, Morningstar said, offsetting some economic harm from trade uncertainty.

Man, 25, dies in Winnipeg Remand Centre

3:35 PM

A man died in the Winnipeg Remand Centre jail on Wednesday.

The provincial justice department announced the 25-year-old’s death Thursday.

His cause of death and name have not been made public.

Provincial officials reported the man’s death at the jail in downtown Winnipeg to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which will probe the circumstances of the incident.

Man drugged, sexually assaulted teen: police

3:31 PM

A 31-year-old man is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting an underage girl he met on social media.

In February, the accused met a 14-year-old girl in person after chatting online, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Thursday.

During the meetup, the girl was given illicit drugs and sexually assaulted, police said.

The police counter exploitation unit began investigating in March.

On Sunday, police arrested John Dustin Verde Bries just after 6 p.m. at an apartment on the 500 block of Leila Avenue.

He has been charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, luring a person under 16 and obtaining sexual services from a person under 18 years of age.

Bries remains in custody.

Dauphin woman accused of hitting man with car, assaulting bystander

12:08 PM

A 29-year-old Dauphin woman faces a slew of charges after police say she hit a pedestrian multiple times with her car.

RCMP were sent to Main Street in the western Manitoba city after 11 p.m. Tuesday and learned a woman clipped a man with her vehicle.

When he got up and attempted to run away, she hit him again, RCMP said in a Thursday news release.

Police said the woman then exited her vehicle and assaulted the victim, whom she knew, while he was lying on the ground.

A bystander saw what as happening and attempted to help the victim but the woman assaulted him, too, police said.

The accused fled the scene and both victims were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Officers found the woman hours later and arrested her. She faces 10 charges, including attempted murder, two counts of assault and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm.

She remains in custody.

Museum cancels Yuri’s Night event

11:07 AM

The Manitoba Museum is cancelling this year’s Yuri’s Night presentation owing to concerns about the event’s thematic association with Russia in light of the country’s ongoing war with Ukraine.

Held every April 12, the international celebration promotes space exploration by recognizing humanity’s first space flight on the same date in 1961. It’s named after Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet pilot who journeyed alone into outer space in a Vostok space capsule and completed one orbit of the earth in under two hours.

Manitoba Museum’s event, held at the Planetarium, was to feature a dance party, a pop-up bar, contests and science activities.

The museum explained the decision to cancel the event, and refund ticket holders, on social media.

“After listening closely to the extensive feedback shared with us … we have decided to cancel the event,” they wrote. “We are truly sorry for any hurt or discomfort that seeing the Yuri’s Night event advertised may have caused.”

In the comment section, they clarified that their decision reflected concerns “related to the name of the event and its association with the Soviet Union and Russia.”

Online responses to the cancellation were mixed. Some commended the museum for their sensitivity to the effects of the Russo-Ukrainian war on Winnipeg’s Ukrainian community, while others were more critical.

Vostok 1 is a key moment in the Space Race, a Cold War-era competition between the United States and the Soviet Union for superior spaceflight capability with its origins in the nuclear arms race.

Some commenters insisted on the apolitical spirit of Yuri’s Night, with one writing: “Yuri’s Night commemorates a monumental milestone for humanity … space exploration has traditionally been a realm where we look past terrestrial borders.”

The Manitoba Museum said they intend to host the event with a new name and focus in the future, “framing it as a celebration of space exploration as a whole.”