Editorials

Opinion

Free Press files Winnipeg’s famous Portage and Main intersection reopened to pedestrians on June 25, 2025.

Anything seems possible now

4 minute read Yesterday at 2:02 AM CDT

For the sake of history, and accuracy, it’s important that Winnipeggers should record and reflect on all of the bad things that did not happen when the City of Winnipeg finally, thankfully, re-opened Portage and Main to pedestrians just over one year ago.

Traffic did not gridlock.

Pedestrians were not mowed down like traffic cones.

It did not divert much-needed financial resources away from more important infrastructure projects.

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Opinion

Plan for 24 Sussex Drive makes sense

Plan for 24 Sussex Drive makes sense

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Plan for 24 Sussex Drive makes sense

Editorial 4 minute read Friday, Jul. 3, 2026

It has, for more than a decade, been this country’s highest-profile vacant dwelling.

Prior to 2015, however, 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa had been the official residence of Canada’s prime ministers for more than 60 years, an address whose mention conjured notions of prestige and distinction akin to those associated with 10 Downing Street in London or the White House in Washington, D.C.

After years of deferred maintenance and, one might argue, outright neglect, the 35-room mansion that was home to every prime minister from Louis St-Laurent to Stephen Harper is no longer fit for human habitation. Among the concerns that led Justin Trudeau to opt not to live at 24 Sussex — choosing instead to dwell at nearby Rideau Cottage — were a leaky roof, cracked windows, failing plumbing, faulty wiring and the presence of asbestos in the structure’s 160-year-old construction materials.

Current Prime Minister (and non-Sussex resident) Mark Carney thinks it’s time for 24 Sussex to reclaim its status as the PM’s official residence. Last Friday he unveiled plans for a massive redesign and renovation plan and a fundraising campaign that will invite Canadians to contribute to the project.

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Friday, Jul. 3, 2026

Opinion

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Police Service Chief Gene Bowers

Downtown crackdown necessary

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Downtown crackdown necessary

Editorial 4 minute read Thursday, Jul. 2, 2026

It has stirred controversy and been met with loudly voiced objections from some interested parties, but this much can be said about the recent police crackdown on open drug use and trafficking in Winnipeg’s downtown core:

Doing nothing was not an acceptable option.

The Winnipeg Police Service last week embarked on an ambitious 10-day initiative aimed at curbing the very open selling and use of street drugs in the city’s centre, particularly in the area surrounding the strip of Main Street between Logan and Higgins avenues where open drug use has become alarmingly commonplace.

The crackdown, which was jointly announced by WPS Chief Gene Bowers and Mayor Scott Gillingham, is in response to months of escalating complaints from residents, business owners and others concerned about the state of Winnipeg’s downtown.

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Thursday, Jul. 2, 2026

Opinion

Andre Penner / Associated Press Canada’s Stephen Eustáquio celebrates scoring the winning goal against South Africa in a World Cup match in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 28

Canada’s ‘heroes’ on the pitch

Editorial, June 30 4 minute read Preview

Canada’s ‘heroes’ on the pitch

Editorial, June 30 4 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2026

“You guys are Canadian heroes!”

Jesse Marsch, the head coach of Canada’s national men’s soccer team, was effusive in praise of his players after they defeated South Africa on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles.

A goal by Canadian midfielder Stephen Eustáquio in the game’s 92nd minute broke a 0-0 stalemate, ensuring that Canada won a knockout-round game at a men’s World Cup for the first time.

The team will play in the tournament’s round-of-16 on Saturday, July 4, in Houston, Texas — the furthest Canada’s men’s team has been in this competition.

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Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2026

Opinion

THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Scientists are learning about the diets of ancient ground squirrels (ancestors of the Richardson’s ground squirrel, above) as permafrost thaws in northern Canada.

Wonders of science never cease

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Wonders of science never cease

Editorial 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 29, 2026

This is your regular reminder that science is a many-splendoured thing.

As well, a reminder that scientific study, however specialized, can bring a huge variety of benefits — sometimes, from something as simple (and occasionally irritating) as a ground squirrel.

It turns out that a combination of ground squirrels, their feces, DNA science and the remarkable refrigeration unit know as permafrost is giving scientists a window on a world that has long since disappeared.

Ancient ground squirrel feces in the Klondike River Valley in the Yukon are being collected from burrows deep in the permafrost, and are being analyzed by analyzed for DNA by a team of scientists.

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Monday, Jun. 29, 2026

Opinion

The Associated Press House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. (right) listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office.

Trump sullies U.S. 250th celebrations

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Trump sullies U.S. 250th celebrations

Editorial 4 minute read Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

United States President Donald Trump is undermining his country’s momentous 250th anniversary celebrations by single-handedly making the celebrations about himself and not the country nor the citizens that he allegedly represents.

The “America 250 Commission” was created nearly a decade ago to serve as a non-partisan coordinator of anniversary events. The centrepiece of the commission’s events is a star-studded benefit concert in Los Angeles that has been dubbed “America’s block Party.” The gala, featuring big-name musical artists, will connect remotely to smaller, community-level parties across the country.

Trump, unsuccessful in efforts to take over the commission, decided to create his own organization, Freedom 250, to hold a rival event at Washington, D.C.’s famed National Mall that he is calling “The Great American State Fair.”

Trump’s plans to steal attention from official 250th anniversary events began to fall apart in recent weeks, as many of the musical acts pulled out and some states refused an invitation to participate. Undeterred, Trump stepped in as the headlining act to deliver a blistering, campaign-style speech at a time when Americans are being encouraged to lay down their partisan swords and celebrate the nation.

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Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

Opinion

Tribune News Service Then-U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron speaks outside 10 Downing St. the morning after the EU referendum in 2016.

Brexit: 10 years after

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Brexit: 10 years after

Editorial 4 minute read Friday, Jun. 26, 2026

On June 23, 2016, a bare majority of the U.K. population — just 51.9 per cent — voted to leave the European Union in a national referendum on the question called by then-prime minister David Cameron.

Ten years on, it seems fair to say that many who voted in favour of Brexit feel a great deal of buyer’s remorse.

Cameron, a Conservative, was riding the crest of an unexpected majority government won in the 2015 U.K. general election. He called the referendum in attempt to appease the “leavers” in his party and to silence the increasingly noisy United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), led by Nigel Farage.

The prevalent political wisdom was that Cameron could put the issue to bed with a resounding defeat of the referendum question. He campaigned for the Remain side and didn’t think he could lose.

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Friday, Jun. 26, 2026

Opinion

CHRISTOPHER KATSAROV / THE CANADIAN PRESS Prime Minister Mark Carney

PMO stumbles with Sio Silica communique

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PMO stumbles with Sio Silica communique

Editorial 4 minute read Thursday, Jun. 25, 2026

Let’s file this under the heading “not helpful.”

While attending the G7 summit last week in Évian, France, Prime Minister Mark Carney touted “new investment partnerships” between Canada and Germany, including a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by Canadian-based Sio Silica and German solar technology firm RCT Solutions for the extraction of high-purity silica sand used in solar-panel manufacturing.

For the international community (and likely most of Canada outside Manitoba), the readout on the MOU probably seemed like a good-news story regarding a bilateral agreement to “support a high-purity silica project, to extract 99.9 per cent-plus pure silica sand, highly valued for manufacturing solar panels and semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and defence-related technologies.”

A second memorandum described by Carney involves the two companies and the Southern Chiefs’ Organization in a partnership to build a fully integrated solar manufacturing hub in Manitoba.

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Thursday, Jun. 25, 2026

Opinion

THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Longtime Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean

A cultural tradition forever changed

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

A cultural tradition forever changed

Editorial 4 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2026

As cultural shifts go, this one is about as Canadian as they come.

When the puck drops this fall on the National Hockey League’s 2026-27 season, for the first time in nearly three-quarters of a century there will be no games available on CBC. Hockey Night in Canada, as Canadian sports fans have known it for generations, has ceased to be.

The public broadcaster and Rogers Sportsnet — the rights-holder to NHL hockey in this country, which in April signed a 12-year, $11-billion renewal of its exclusive national deal — were unable to come to terms on a new sub-licensing agreement that would allow HNIC to continue as the Saturday-night CBC tradition that has been part of the Canadian TV-watching experience since, well … forever.

To be accurate, Hockey Night had existed as a CBC staple since 1936, when the public broadcaster was established as a radio service, and became part of the Saturday-night schedule when CBC’s TV service arrived in 1952.

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Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2026

Opinion

FREE PRESS FILES Judge Jerilee Ryle, pictured her at her 2025 provincial court swearing-in.

Justice system should reflect people it serves

Tom Brodbeck 4 minute read Preview

Justice system should reflect people it serves

Tom Brodbeck 4 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 23, 2026

Manitoba’s justice system has struggled for decades with a reality that should concern every resident of the province: Indigenous people are dramatically overrepresented in the courts and in custody. Despite countless reports, inquiries, recommendations and promises of reform, the numbers remain stubbornly high and, in some cases, continue to worsen.

That is why the appointment of Judge Jerilee Ryle, who is Anishinaabe from Lake St. Martin First Nation, as Manitoba’s first associate chief judge of reconciliation is an important and welcome development.

The position is the first of its kind in Canada. While it remains unclear exactly how the role will reshape the administration of justice in Manitoba, its creation represents a recognition that the status quo is not working and that meaningful change requires dedicated leadership from within the court system itself.

The statistics alone make a compelling case for action. Indigenous people account for a relatively small share of Manitoba’s overall population, yet they make up the overwhelming majority of adults in provincial custody. They are also disproportionately represented as victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings.

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Tuesday, Jun. 23, 2026

Opinion

FREE PRESS FILES Designated homeless encampments could aid those in transition from homelessness to being housed.

Designated encampments worth second look

4 minute read Preview

Designated encampments worth second look

4 minute read Saturday, Jun. 20, 2026

Winnipeg city councillor Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) continues to champion the idea of authorized, designated homeless encampments despite getting no support from her colleagues on city council or the provincial government. That’s too bad, because her idea has merit.

Reducing homelessness and all of the collateral problems it represents is a pressing issue for the city and the provincial NDP government. To that end, both levels of government have taken steps to address the problem, with differing results.

The province has taken the lead with Your Way Home, a program to provide permanent housing for the homeless with “wraparound” social and health services. Your Way Home has made some progress but there is evidence the size of Winnipeg’s homeless population is growing faster than the program can house it.

At the same time, the city passed a bylaw to clear homeless encampments. To date, it has forcibly cleared some 60 encampments, containing hundreds of residents.

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Saturday, Jun. 20, 2026

Opinion

Carney wise to keep options open

Carney wise to keep options open

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Carney wise to keep options open

Editorial 4 minute read Friday, Jun. 19, 2026

Two news stories showed remarkable overlap in the last few days: one on Prime Minister Mark Carney, talking about what the new world order looks like, the other on AI and the Trump administration’s decision to limit sales of two new AI models.

First, here’s Prime Minister Carney in Ireland, on his way to G7 meetings in France: “What one can’t do at this point in a rapidly shifting world order is to rely on one set of institutions, one grouping, one country to provide the answers.”

Isn’t that the truth — reliability and the U.S., for example, are hardly synonymous at the moment.

Couple that with the decision by the U.S. federal government to put export controls on new AI models from Anthropic, saying it had to restrict access to the technology to protect the U.S. from abuse of the AI by foreign nationals.

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Friday, Jun. 19, 2026

Opinion

FREE PRESS FILES Seven Oaks General Hospital is the latest medical facility to be grey-listed by the Manitoba Nurses Union.

Grey-list effectiveness dissipates

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Grey-list effectiveness dissipates

Editorial 4 minute read Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

In casual parlance, the law of diminishing returns refers to the idea that the more you use something, the less value you derive from it.

With its recent decision to have its members vote on the possibility of imposing a “grey list” designation on Seven Oaks General Hospital, the Manitoba Nurses Union may have run head-on into a diminishing-returns situation regarding what was once its most powerful administrative and public-relations weapon.

According to the union, MNU members at Seven Oaks voted 98 per cent in favour of grey-listing the facility, over growing frustration with the province’s inadequate response to violence, gaps in security, unsafe staffing levels and insufficient communication between management and staff.

Grey listing is a pressure tactic employed by the union which results in nurses being advised not to seek work at a location deemed unsafe; such a designation also serves as a warning to the public that the facility in question is not a safe environment.

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Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

Opinion

Tim Smith / Brandon Sun files Wildfires, floods and other severe weather events have become annual occurrences in Manitoba.

Climate change demands action, not hope

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Climate change demands action, not hope

Editorial 4 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2026

Hoping against hope may have suddenly, quietly, become the world’s new strategy for addressing climate change.

An ancient biblical concept, hope against hope describes our ability to believe everything is going to be alright despite abundant evidence to the contrary. It’s relevant now because, after two decades of aggressive progress in reducing carbon emissions, we’ve started to retreat.

There has been progress in the energy generation sector, where zero-emission options such as hydro, wind and solar have been increasing at an aggressive rate. However, coal and oil still account for roughly two-thirds of all electricity generation in the world, even as severe weather causes trillions of dollars in damage and lost economic activity around the world.

Manitoba offers a good example of how climate change has been de-emphasized against a backdrop of severe weather. Destructive wildfires and floods have become annual events in Manitoba, but not convinced the NDP government to become more aggressive on carbon emissions.

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Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2026

Opinion

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara

Doc’s looming departure raises concerns

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Doc’s looming departure raises concerns

Editorial 4 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 16, 2026

Manitobans should be deeply concerned by reports that one of the province’s most specialized cancer physicians may be leaving after spending years trying to introduce a treatment already available elsewhere in Canada.

They should also be demanding answers.

The possible departure of interventional radiologist Dr. Alessandra Cassano-Bailey is troubling on several levels. First and foremost, it raises concerns about access to care for patients battling liver cancer.

Just as important, it raises broader questions about whether Manitoba’s health-care system is capable of retaining highly skilled specialists and supporting innovation when clinicians identify ways to improve patient outcomes.

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Tuesday, Jun. 16, 2026

Opinion

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS A participant walks in the June 7 Pride Parade in downtown Winnipeg.

Taking Pride in what’s been built

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Taking Pride in what’s been built

Editorial 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 15, 2026

Sunday, June 7, was a steamy day but, even without the heat, the heart of Winnipeg glowed with warmth.

That’s because an estimated 15,000 LGBTTQ+ Winnipeggers and allies snaked their way through the city’s downtown arteries — from the Manitoba legislature, along Portage Avenue and to The Forks — as part of the city’s 39th annual Pride Winnipeg parade, a riotously colourful expression and celebration of love and joy.

At The Forks, participants enjoyed drag shows, live music, theatre performances and other activities to mark the culmination of Pride Week, as well as the beginning of what the province of Manitoba now recognizes as Pride Month.

Jim Kane, grand marshal of this year’s parade, said during the pre-parade rally in front of the Legislative Building that Winnipeg and Manitoba have made great strides since 1987, when the first Pride march was held.

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Monday, Jun. 15, 2026

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