Brandon Sun – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

A construction crew at the WestVic Common retail development at 3409 Victoria Ave. pours a new cement sidewalk in the parking lot of the complex on Tuesday afternoon. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

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Labour board ends one-day Dynacare strike

By Carol Sanders, Erik Pindera and Rylee Gerrard 7 minute read Preview

Labour board ends one-day Dynacare strike

By Carol Sanders, Erik Pindera and Rylee Gerrard 7 minute read Yesterday at 10:13 PM CDT

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba Labour Board has cut short a strike by 350 lab workers employed by Dynacare who administer blood and urine tests for patients in Winnipeg, Brandon and surrounding communities.

The board ruled late Tuesday afternoon that the workers, who hit the picket line at 6 a.m., must return to work today.

Jason Linklater, president of their union, the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, slammed the board’s decision.

“The Manitoba Labour Board is doing exactly what the government asked them to do: they are taking away our members’ right to fight for fairness,” he said in a statement.

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Yesterday at 10:13 PM CDT

‘I thought I was actually going to die,’ woman tells court on first day of trial

By Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Preview

‘I thought I was actually going to die,’ woman tells court on first day of trial

By Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Yesterday at 10:11 PM CDT

A western Manitoba woman described feeling shocked and scared throughout her eight-year relationship, alleging her former partner raped her five times and strangled and physically abused her in front of their son.

“Every day I would wake up, I didn’t know what the day was going to bring. I just made the best out of my situation,” said the 38-year-old woman, who testified behind a screen in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday.

“I didn’t feel like I had anywhere else I could go … I hoped he would change.”

A 43-year-old man pleaded not guilty to three counts of assault, assault by choking and sexual assault before Justice Scott Abel on Tuesday, marking the start of the two-day trial.

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Yesterday at 10:11 PM CDT

Local

Operation Red Nose Brandon organizer Len Isleifson speaks at Brandon city council on Tuesday evening. (Alex Lambert/The Brandon Sun)

City to waive fees for Operation Red Nose

By Alex Lambert 4 minute read Preview

City to waive fees for Operation Red Nose

By Alex Lambert 4 minute read Yesterday at 10:10 PM CDT

Ahead of a planned return this holiday season, Brandon city council has waived criminal record check fees for Operation Red Nose volunteers.

Operation Red Nose hasn’t operated in Brandon since 2023 because of a lack of volunteers and fewer requests for service since it started locally in 1996. The volunteer-run organization provides people who have been drinking or using drugs with a safe ride home in their own car and is funded through donations.

“So (we’re) just trying to make it as easy as possible so that we can attract more volunteers,” Len Isleifson, who is overseeing stakeholder relations for Operation Red Nose as a board member of the Provincial Exhibition, said before Tuesday night’s meeting.

Isleifson, who is also running to be the mayor of Brandon in next month’s election, said the criminal record check fee was a big part of the problem in attracting volunteers, as they had to go to the police station and pay the cost, which currently sits at $13 for applicants with not-for-profit agencies.

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Yesterday at 10:10 PM CDT

Local

Hosteen Bungon, president of the United Nigerians Brandon Association, sits at his home in the city earlier this year. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Bungon joins school trustee race with focus on safety

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Preview

Bungon joins school trustee race with focus on safety

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Yesterday at 10:09 PM CDT

Hosteen Bungon is running for a seat on the Brandon School Division board of trustees.

Bungon, who works as a supervisor at Canada Packers, said his decision to seek a trustee position was motivated by a desire to contribute to addressing challenges facing the school division.

“One thing that made me jump into this ship to contest for this position is the fact that I have learnt one principle over time — when you see a problem, instead of complaining, try to put yourself in a position where you’ll be able to solve the problem,” Bungon, who is also the United Nigerians in Brandon Association president, told the Sun.

A key issue he plans to focus on if elected is school safety.

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Yesterday at 10:09 PM CDT

Local

Brandon University Student Services staff member Joan Garbutt gives a new student a slice of pizza during fall orientation on Tuesday afternoon. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun)

BU orientation sees ‘more engaged’ cohort

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Preview

BU orientation sees ‘more engaged’ cohort

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Yesterday at 10:07 PM CDT

Brandon University welcomed new students to campus Tuesday morning during its fall orientation.

The event gave incoming students opportunities to familiarize themselves with the university and learn about the resources and services available to them. It featured an orientation fair where students could connect with university departments, student groups and other campus services before beginning their regular classes.

It was designed to ensure students know they have support throughout their university experience, said Joan Garbutt of BU Student Services.

“We just want to get students off on the right foot, have them be a little bit familiar with campus before they start into the day-to-day grind of classes,” Garbutt told the Sun. “It was important for students to understand they do not have to navigate university life alone. There are people and services to support them all the way through their journey.”

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Yesterday at 10:07 PM CDT

Local

Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun files)

Province spending $100K for last phase of campground expansion

1 minute read Preview

Province spending $100K for last phase of campground expansion

1 minute read Yesterday at 10:04 PM CDT

The provincial government is giving $100,000 to the Municipality of Boissevain-Morton to help finish the Boissevain Lions Campground expansion.

The final phase of the project will complete long-standing infrastructure upgrades and add 12 new fully serviced campsites, the province announced in a news release Tuesday.

Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard said the expansion “supports rural recreation, strengthens tourism and ensures families have access to high-quality outdoor experiences.”

The campground has been in place since the 1960s and has grown in popularity since an aquatic centre opened next door two years ago, the province said.

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Yesterday at 10:04 PM CDT

Local

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

Restaurant assault; domestic violence; shoplifting arrest

2 minute read Preview

Restaurant assault; domestic violence; shoplifting arrest

2 minute read Yesterday at 9:59 PM CDT

Restaurant assault

A 48-year-old woman was arrested and charged with assault causing bodily harm in connection with an incident at a Brandon restaurant, police say.

Brandon police received a report around 10:45 a.m. Monday that a suspect involved in an assault that occurred the previous night had returned to the restaurant on the 200 block of 15th Street.

Police detained the woman. She was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

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Yesterday at 9:59 PM CDT

Lifestyles

Manitoba Association of Health Care Professional supporters and workers rally in Winnipeg on Wednesday Sept. 2, 2026. A scheduled strike of 350 laboratory workers in the province is set to take place on Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brittany Hobson

Manitoba labour board orders striking medical lab workers back to work

Brittany Hobson and Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Manitoba labour board orders striking medical lab workers back to work

Brittany Hobson and Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:18 PM CDT

WINNIPEG - Several hundred workers who carry out medical diagnostic testing in Manitoba hit the picket lines in a provincewide strike Tuesday morning, but by the end of the day were ordered back to work.

Their union says the Manitoba Labour Board ordered the 350 workers back as of Wednesday to 22 Dynacare labs across the province.

The decision came after lawyers for Premier Wab Kinew’s government argued to the board earlier Tuesday that the workers were too valuable to the functioning of the health system to be allowed to strike.

Jason Linklater, the president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, say they will abide by the decision while it explores options.

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Updated: Yesterday at 6:18 PM CDT

Business

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with members of the media as he arrives at the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Carney warns of tough times ahead in national address as retaliatory tariffs begin

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Carney warns of tough times ahead in national address as retaliatory tariffs begin

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 4:10 PM CDT

OTTAWA - Canada's pivot away from the United States will "come at a cost" but the alternative would be far worse, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday.

Carney made the remarks in a video released just hours after his government made good on a promise to implement retaliatory tariffs on the United States. Those tariffs respond to American duties imposed last month by U.S. President Donald Trump, after the two countries could not come to an agreement to settle some outstanding trade irritants.

Carney spent much of the video laying out Canada's response to Trump's protectionist trade policies, including expanding trade with other countries and building more capacity domestically.

But he said it "won't be easy."

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Updated: Yesterday at 4:10 PM CDT

Lifestyles

Kofi Berkley, shown in this undated handout photo, didn't have a history of severe allergies but had an anaphylactic reaction at his Edmonton school in May 2026. Because of an Alberta law, the school had an epinephrine device on hand to treat him. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout-Cristen Berkley
(Mandatory Credit)

Food Allergy Canada calls for laws requiring schools to stock epinephrine devices

Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Preview

Food Allergy Canada calls for laws requiring schools to stock epinephrine devices

Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:25 PM CDT

TORONTO - Last May, six-year-old Kofi Berkley started getting itchy and developing bumps on his skin while he was playing with his friends at recess.

The recess supervisor brought the Grade 1 student, who didn't have any known allergies, to his Edmonton elementary school's office.

Principal Joanne Harle and an administrative assistant applied ice on his skin to try to soothe the irritation.

"Truly to goodness within — it felt like an hour but it wasn't, it was probably maybe a minute — you could see his eyes swell. His top lip grew. He was gasping to breathe," said Harle.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:25 PM CDT