Making it work… almost

Manitoba Tories can learn from Poilievre’s mistake

Among the many errors made by Pierre Poilievre since becoming leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, his decision to attempt to persuade supporters of Max Bernier’s People’s Party and other right-wing groups to return to the Tory party ­— as opposed to adopting policies that would make the CPC more attractive to moderate Canadians — may be his greatest mistake.

By pandering to that small group of voters, Poilievre alienated a much larger group of centrist voters who would have otherwise considered voting for Conservative Party candidates in the 2025 federal election. Instead, those voters found the pro-Canadian, fiscally and socially moderate platform offered by Mark Carney’s Liberals to be more attractive, resulting in the humiliating defeat of the Conservatives.

The situation for the federal Tories has worsened since then, with the Liberals continuing to hold a large lead in public opinion polls and Carney leading Poilievre by almost 30 points on the “preferred prime minister” question. Those same polls also reveal that many Conservative voters approve of the Liberal government’s performance and prefer Carney over Poilievre as PM.

Despite all of those numbers — and all the evidence that pushing policies designed to attract the right-wing fringe of the political spectrum is making it all but impossible for the CPC to have any realistic hope of winning the next election — Poilievre continues to rely on the same caustic rhetoric that cost his party the 2025 election. If anything, he has turned up the volume lately, with his efforts increasingly resembling a political suicide mission.

Despite rumours, there's nothing nefarious going down at Black Market Provisions

Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.

Last August, eight months before old-fashioned general store Black Market Provisions held its grand opening on March 21, a pair of black-and-white signs reading “something tasty coming soon” went up in the windows at 550 Osborne St., the former home of Pollock’s Hardware. A few weeks later, couple Angela Farkas and Alana Fiks, owners of Pop Cart, Winnipeg’s first gourmet frozen-treat pushcart, heard through the grapevine their pending, bricks-and-mortar venture was already a hot topic of conversation on Reddit. More to the point, due to its sinister-sounding tag, people who lived nearby were wondering what sort of nefarious goods the new owners were intending to peddle, exactly.

“There were all these rumours floating around that we would be a cannabis bakery, and that the reason we were taking so long to open after acquiring the space last summer was because we were waiting for the (marijuana) laws to change,” says Farkas, standing behind the counter of their brightly painted space, stocked with an array of locally produced gift items and foodstuffs including, of course, their own line of popsicles and ice cream. “The day we opened, all kinds of people popped in saying they’d heard or read we were going to be an edibles shop, and were so relieved to find out that wasn’t the case, at all.”

Recyclables piling up since fire at Emterra plant

Mountains of recyclables are piling up outside the Emterra Environmental plant on Henry Avenue, making the property an eyesore.

“(It) looks like a landfill,” said Angela Anderson, founder of Journey to Zero Waste Winnipeg.

On Aug. 8, rubbish on a conveyor belt at one of the Emterra buildings caught fire. It was extinguished before the conveyor belt load reached the second building, the city said in a release. The fire has put a wrench into sorting operations.

Repairs are ongoing, and "staff are working diligently to return the plant to normal operations,” the city spokesperson said. 

Brotherly bond boosts local Amazing Race competitors

Sacha has a feeling and Sébastien has a plan — together they’ll work it out.

Winnipeg brothers and best friends Sébastien and Sacha Régnier have added “teammates” to their list of achievements as The Amazing Race Canada launches its 12th season with the siblings on board.

The reality series, which kicks off this year on Whistler Mountain in British Columbia, follows 10 pairs of competitors in a global race, vying for a prize of $250,000 and a trip around the world.

Both Sébastien and Sacha grew up playing sports, so they’re natural competitors.

‘Senseless violence’: Man gets seven years for stabbing wife’s aunt to death

A Winnipeg man who fatally stabbed his wife’s aunt in the neck after she tried to calm a drug and alcohol-fuelled argument over $20 has been sent to prison for seven years.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Jeffrey Harris gave Dustin Swampy, 31, the sentence late last month for manslaughter in the May 2024 stabbing death of Rachel Muswagon, 37.

He had stood trial for second-degree murder but was instead convicted of the lesser offence.

“Mr. Swampy armed himself with a knife during a domestic dispute over $20 and used that knife against a defenceless victim who posed no risk of harm to Mr. Swampy,” wrote Harris in his sentencing decision.