Brandon Sun – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

Construction flagger Todd Bone shares a laugh with a co-worker while on the job at the corner of 18th Street and Louise Avenue in Brandon on Tuesday. Bone is part of a construction crew that is in the process of repaving Louise Avenue this week. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

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Power outage affects about 850 Brandon customers

By Abiola Odutola 2 minute read Preview

Power outage affects about 850 Brandon customers

By Abiola Odutola 2 minute read 10:06 PM CDT

A power outage in parts of Brandon Tuesday morning affected about 850 customers, including the Manitoba Public Insurance Service Centre on First Street.

The outage was caused by a vehicle striking a power pole near the intersection of Park Avenue and Russell Street, Manitoba Hydro spokesperson Peter Chura said.

“We had to take an outage this morning so crews could safely repair damage from a vehicle hitting a pole close to the intersection,” Chura told the Sun on Tuesday afternoon.

Manitoba Hydro said in a social media post that the emergency outage was expected to begin between 9:30 and 10 a.m. The utility initially estimated that power would be restored by early afternoon.

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10:06 PM CDT

Souris man accused of assaulting, pointing rifle at woman

2 minute read Preview

Souris man accused of assaulting, pointing rifle at woman

2 minute read 10:00 PM CDT

A 66-year-old Souris man is facing multiple charges after Mounties say he assaulted and pointed a rifle at a woman before he was tackled in her home last week.

Blue Hills RCMP were called to a residence in Souris around 1 p.m. on Aug. 27 about an armed man who had entered the home and assaulted someone, RCMP said in a news release on Tuesday.

Mounties said the suspect knocked on the door and asked a woman if he could speak with her partner. The man then assaulted the woman and pointed a high-powered rifle at her.

The woman ran off as her husband rushed to the door and tackled the suspect, police said. The husband wrestled the firearm from the man and held him down until Mounties arrived.

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10:00 PM CDT

Brandon man arrested in Portage for carrying shotgun

1 minute read Preview

Brandon man arrested in Portage for carrying shotgun

1 minute read Updated: 10:17 PM CDT

A Brandon man was arrested in Portage la Prairie on Monday after police allege he was seen carrying a shotgun into an apartment block.

Around 2 a.m., RCMP were called to the third floor of an apartment building on the 600 block of Sixth Street Northwest after a shirtless man was seen in possession of a weapon, police said in a news release on Monday.

RCMP knocked on several apartment doors until they heard two men arguing in a suite. Officers went inside and found the suspect in the bathroom and a shotgun under a bed.

Slade Anderson-Houle, 23, was charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, careless use of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm, police said.

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Updated: 10:17 PM CDT

Local

The Brandon Police Service station at 10th Street and Victoria Avenue. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Weapon possession charge after hospital disturbance; stolen vehicle recovered in Neepawa

2 minute read Preview

Weapon possession charge after hospital disturbance; stolen vehicle recovered in Neepawa

2 minute read 9:58 PM CDT

Crawling woman

A 28-year-old woman was detained at the Brandon police station after she was found crawling across a street downtown.

Officers came across the woman on Monday before 10 p.m. in the 800 block of Rosser Avenue, police said in a news release on Tuesday.

The woman was taken into custody under the Protective Detention and Care of Intoxicated Persons Act and was released once she was sober and able to care for herself, police said.

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9:58 PM CDT

Local

Brandon University dean of students Katie Whelpton stands in front of the university's library. Whelpton says the growth in Indigenous enrolment is partly the result of a concerted effort by the university to build stronger relationships with Indigenous communities across Manitoba. (Supplied)

Indigenous student enrolment continues to climb at BU

By Abiola Odutola 5 minute read Preview

Indigenous student enrolment continues to climb at BU

By Abiola Odutola 5 minute read Updated: 10:19 PM CDT

Brandon University continues to see a steady rise in Indigenous student enrolment, with a 12.5 per cent increase from last year as of Sept. 1.

The latest numbers bring the total count to 570 and follow a trend that has seen Indigenous students become one of the fastest growing demographics at BU in recent years.

The students are primarily from Brandon, followed by Winnipeg, The Pas, Dauphin and Thompson, and the university is seeing increased applications from high schools in communities with larger Indigenous populations.

Meanwhile, domestic, non-Indigenous enrolment saw modest gains overall while international student numbers fell despite an increase in new enrolments.

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Updated: 10:19 PM CDT

Local

Jason Linklater, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals. (Mike Deal/Winnipeg Free Press files)

NDP accused of meddling in Dynacare contract talks

By Carol Sanders 4 minute read Preview

NDP accused of meddling in Dynacare contract talks

By Carol Sanders 4 minute read 9:54 PM CDT

WINNIPEG — The union for hundreds of Dynacare lab employees in Manitoba has accused the provincial government of interfering in contract talks ahead of next week’s strike deadline.

The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, which bargains on behalf of 350 lab workers at two dozen Dynacare outlets in Winnipeg, Brandon and surrounding communities, said Tuesday that the labour board has been asked to review the need for an essential services agreement.

Dynacare and the union agreed in March that Dynacare services are not deemed essential under provincial law and do not need to continue if a strike is held, MAHCP president Jason Linklater said Tuesday. The union, whose collective agreement with the private company expired March 31, said the NDP government was informed the two sides had agreed no essential services agreement was needed.

After contract negotiations broke down, and a strike deadline of 6 a.m. Sept. 8 was set, physicians and health-care advocates warned that patient care will suffer if the strike goes ahead because Dynacare provides nearly all medical lab services in Manitoba.

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9:54 PM CDT

Local

Human trafficking detection to be focus of Brandon presentation

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Preview

Human trafficking detection to be focus of Brandon presentation

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Updated: 10:17 PM CDT

A Manitoba-based organization supporting survivors of human trafficking is hosting a presentation next week in Brandon to educate people about what signs to watch out for.

The presentation by the Joy Smith Foundation — Canada’s leading authority on human trafficking prevention and intervention — will take place at Trinity United Church on Sixth Street on Sept. 9 at 1:30 p.m.

“People need to understand how it happens in their community. And oftentimes, especially in the Westman area, it’s youth that become very vulnerable,” Janet Campbell, the foundation’s president and CEO, said Tuesday.

Youth can be targeted through in-person and online relationships in which they form a connection with a perpetrator and are showered with affection, attention, expensive gifts and experiences, Campbell said.

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Updated: 10:17 PM CDT

Local

Paul Farrell, a Canadian Armed Forces veteran and founder of the AfterGlo Wellness Society, will bring his mental health initiative Answer the Call to the West End Community Centre in Brandon on Sunday. (Supplied)

Veteran ‘answers the call’ with national campaign on mental health

By Rylee Gerrard 3 minute read Preview

Veteran ‘answers the call’ with national campaign on mental health

By Rylee Gerrard 3 minute read 9:52 PM CDT

An Afghanistan war veteran is bringing his mental health initiative to Brandon by hosting a community event about research and resources available to veterans and first responders on Sunday.

Paul Farrell is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran who served in the military for more than 10 years, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2010.

He left the service because of his post-traumatic stress disorder and struggled to access support where he lived in Ontario at the time.

Farrell, 45, said his lived experience motivated him to launch the non-profit AfterGlo Wellness Society.

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9:52 PM CDT

Local

Minister of Labour and Immigration Malaya Marcelino speaks at a press conference in Winnipeg, Friday, May 9, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski

Menstrual product rules for workplaces take effect

By Carol Sanders 4 minute read Preview

Menstrual product rules for workplaces take effect

By Carol Sanders 4 minute read 9:50 PM CDT

WINNIPEG — New rules came into force Tuesday requiring all provincially regulated workplaces in Manitoba to provide free menstrual products to employees.

The amendments to the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation were published March 9 but didn’t take effect until Sept. 1 to give employers six months to purchase supplies, and where needed, dispensers and disposal containers.

Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino said Tuesday that rather than push back, employers have asked for more information.

“The only concern I heard was that people don’t know about it and that we need to spread the word in a better way. That was the only issue,” Marcelino said in an interview.

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9:50 PM CDT

Local

Liberal MP-elect Daniel Gobeil, right, reacts to winning in the byelection in the riding of Chicoutimi-Le Fjord in Saguenay, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Minister of Public Works and Procurement Joel Lightbound looks on. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Carney says byelection wins a vote of confidence in his U.S.-Canada trade strategy

Sarah Ritchie and David Baxter, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Carney says byelection wins a vote of confidence in his U.S.-Canada trade strategy

Sarah Ritchie and David Baxter, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 2:36 PM CDT

OTTAWA - In the final hours of byelection voting on Monday, Conservative candidate Jim Syrbos made one last appeal to the people of Beaches-East York: send a clear message to Ottawa and to Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government.

But that was not the message Carney received after the votes were counted in all three ridings up for grabs.

"The message from Canadians, I think, is clear. They've given their support — more than 50 per cent in each of these ridings — to the government's plan and I think that's because Canadians are united and Canadians are ready," Carney said on Tuesday in Ottawa.

"We've been buying Canadian, we've been visiting Canada, we have been reinforcing our strength here at home and diversifying our partnerships abroad. That's been the plan of the government since the start."

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Updated: 2:36 PM CDT