Brandon Sun – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

Guest artists Alex Whitehead (right) and Lisa Rumpel perform during the 16th annual Brandon University Clarinet Festival at the Queen Elizabeth II music building on Saturday afternoon. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun)

Clarinets take centre stage at BU’s 16th annual Festival

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Yesterday at 11:03 PM CST

The sound of clarinets filled the halls of Brandon University this weekend as musicians of all ages gathered for the 16th annual Brandon University Clarinet Festival at the Queen Elizabeth II music building.

The festival has become a signature musical event in western Manitoba, drawing participants from across the Prairies and beyond, founder Cathy Wood, who is a clarinet instructor, told the Sun on Saturday.

Originally from Manitoba, Wood said the idea for the festival was inspired by similar events she encountered while studying in the United States.

“Having these festivals is kind of popular around the world, but we didn’t really have any in Canada … It’s a really great way of bringing community together,” Wood said.

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Coldest Night Walk supports Samaritan House

By Abiola Odutola 2 minute read Preview

Coldest Night Walk supports Samaritan House

By Abiola Odutola 2 minute read Yesterday at 11:03 PM CST

Brandon residents bundled up against the winter chill Saturday evening as they stepped out in support of the Samaritan House Ministries’ annual Coldest Night of the Year walk.

Now in its 12th year, the event invites participants to experience, even briefly, what a day might feel like for someone living unhoused, executive director Heather Symbalisty told the Sun.

“It is a representation of what an individual may experience walking during a day in the life of someone who is living unhoused,” Symbalisty said in an interview. “This represents how much someone can walk every day just to keep themselves warm and alive.”

About 70 walkers took part this year, choosing routes of one, two, five or 10 kilometres. The walk began at Knox United Church, a longtime supporter of the event, and followed a route along Victoria Avenue, turning onto 13th Street and Lorne Avenue before looping back along 17th Street to the church.

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Yesterday at 11:03 PM CST

Brandon residents walk along Lorne Ave during the annual Coldest Night of the Year walk on Saturday evening. The walk began at Knox United Church, a longtime supporter of the event, and followed a route along Victoria Avenue, turning onto 13th Street and Lorne Ave. before looping back along 17th Street to the church.

Submarine companies reach deadline to submit proposals as Canada decides on new fleet

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Submarine companies reach deadline to submit proposals as Canada decides on new fleet

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 8:32 AM CST

OTTAWA - The competition to build the Canadian navy's next fleet of submarines is heading into a new phase after a deadline for both finalists to submit their final proposals to the federal government on Monday.

Canada is planning to buy a fleet of up to 12 conventionally powered submarines with the hope of having the vessels in the water by 2032.

The multibillion-dollar procurement is happening at an accelerated pace as the Royal Canadian Navy's aging Victoria-class submarines are set to retire in the next decade.

The two bids are from South Korea's Hanwha Oceans and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, or TKMS, in a bid that includes Germany and Norway.

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Updated: 8:32 AM CST

South Korea Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, centre, Prime Minister Mark Carney, second right, and National Defence Minister David McGuinty, right, are given a tour of the Hanwha Ocean Shipyard in Geoje Island, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Triceratops skeleton ‘Trey’ to hit the auction block as dinosaur market soars

R.j. Rico, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Triceratops skeleton ‘Trey’ to hit the auction block as dinosaur market soars

R.j. Rico, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: 11:19 AM CST

A triceratops skeleton that stood in a Wyoming museum for decades will be auctioned off, a rare instance of a museum-exhibited dinosaur going to the auction block just as the market for the prehistoric giants has hit record highs.

The fossil, dubbed “Trey,” will be open for bidding from March 17 to 31 on Joopiter, an online auction platform founded by Grammy-winning artist and producer Pharrell Williams. It has a preauction estimate of $4.5 million to $5.5 million.

Dating back more than 66 million years to the late Cretaceous period, Trey was discovered near Lusk, Wyoming, in 1993 by Lee Campbell and the late Allen Graffham, a commercial paleontologist who made numerous significant finds over his lifetime.

The 17-foot-long (5.3-meter-long) herbivore greeted visitors at the 1995 grand opening of the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis, and remained there on loan until 2023.

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Updated: 11:19 AM CST

In this photo made available by JOOPITER, a triceratops skeleton, dubbed Trey, is displayed at Le Freeport, Singapore, Feb. 5, 2026. (Courtesy of Joopiter via AP)

Carney meets with Indian PM Modi in New Delhi, touts energy partnership

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Carney meets with Indian PM Modi in New Delhi, touts energy partnership

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: 1:45 PM CST

DELHI - Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday in New Delhi, where the two leaders announced a series of agreements, including a strategic energy partnership.

The deals come as new allegations emerge about the Indian government's involvement in the murder of a Canadian Sikh activist.

"There has been more engagement between the Canadian and Indian governments in the last year than there has been in than two decades combined," Carney said in joint remarks with Modi.

"So, this is not merely the renewal of a relationship. It is the expansion of a valued partnership with new ambition."

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Updated: 1:45 PM CST

Prime Minister Mark Carney looks on as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers a statement during a presentation of agreements and joint statements in New Delhi, India, Monday, March 2, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Chamber set to host Women of Westman Conference

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Preview

Chamber set to host Women of Westman Conference

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Yesterday at 11:00 PM CST

The Women of Westman (WoW) Conference is returning to the Keystone Centre on March 11, bringing together hundreds of women from across the region for a day of inspiration, networking and leadership development.

Organized by the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, the annual event — formerly known as the Superwomen Conference — has the theme of Future in Focus: Women Shaping Tomorrow, president Jennifer Ludwig told the Sun.

“It is built around three pillars: empower, connect and lead,” Ludwig said in an interview.

The pillars reflect what the conference aims to provide, event co-ordinator Sandra Affun told the Sun.

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Yesterday at 11:00 PM CST

Brandon Chamber of Commerce president Jennifer Ludwig (right) and event co-ordinator Sandra Affun stand in front of the chamber’s office on Friday. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun)

Winnipeg police say two women charged after boy taken from home, mother assaulted

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Winnipeg police say two women charged after boy taken from home, mother assaulted

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Updated: 8:36 AM CST

WINNIPEG - Winnipeg police say two women have been charged after a two-year-old boy was taken from a home and found hours later by a citizen who recognized the trio from an Amber Alert.

Police say the women took the toddler from his biological mother's home in the south end of the city Friday around 10 a.m. after assaulting the mother, who they knew, with a weapon.

About three hours later, police say an Amber Alert was issued for the boy.

The two women and the toddler were later recognized by a citizen as they exited a taxi in the city's north end.

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Updated: 8:36 AM CST

A Winnipeg Police Service shoulder badge is seen on Sept. 2, 2021 at the Public Information Office in Winnipeg. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski

Liberal MP challenges PM’s stance on strikes on Iran as feds sidestep legality issue

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Liberal MP challenges PM’s stance on strikes on Iran as feds sidestep legality issue

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: 2:25 PM CST

OTTAWA - A Liberal MP has challenged Prime Minister Mark Carney's endorsement of American strikes on Iran, as the government sidesteps questions over whether the campaign violates international law.

Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand were in India for a visit focused on diplomacy and trade when the U.S. and Israel launched their major attack on Iran on Saturday. Both wrote a statement that day, saying "Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon" and from undermining peace.

At an event in Mumbai on Saturday, Carney said Canada would not get involved in the conflict. He was scheduled to have a news conference in New Delhi on Monday morning but abruptly cancelled it.

Anand took questions from reporters instead, and she reiterated Canada's intention not to get involved. She also confirmed Canada had no advance notification of the attack.

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Updated: 2:25 PM CST

Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, right, and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, second left, talk to Indian ministers and officials as they wait for the signing of agreement and memorandum of understanding ceremony in New Delhi, India, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Ottawa won’t say if it penalized Gripen jets in 2021 analysis

Kyle Duggan and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Ottawa won’t say if it penalized Gripen jets in 2021 analysis

Kyle Duggan and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: 8:36 AM CST

OTTAWA - National Defence is refusing to disclose how it analyzed competing fighter jet bids after a Swedish media report suggested the evaluation was weighted against Saab's Gripen E.

Citing confidential sources, the Swedish business publication Affarsvarlden reported that Ottawa added a risk coefficient to its analysis that significantly undermined the Gripen's test scores because it was still a new series aircraft.

The report comes after the federal government's internal 2021 scorecard, revealing the topline totals from the analysis, was leaked to Radio-Canada in the fall.

That document shows the American F-35 blowing the Swedish Gripen out of the water, with the F-35 scoring 95 per cent on overall military capabilities while the Gripen scored just 33 per cent.

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Updated: 8:36 AM CST

An F-35A Lightning II sits on the runway on the occasion of the first F-35 fighter jets arriving at the Florennes Airbase in Florennes, Belgium, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025 (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

War in the Mideast widens as Trump says strikes on Iran could last several weeks

Jon Gambrell, Melanie Lidman And Samy Magdy, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

War in the Mideast widens as Trump says strikes on Iran could last several weeks

Jon Gambrell, Melanie Lidman And Samy Magdy, The Associated Press 7 minute read Updated: 2:06 PM CST

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel and the United States pounded Iran on Monday in a campaign that U.S. President Donald Trump said would likely take several weeks. Tehran and its allies hit back against Israel, Gulf states and targets critical to the world’s energy production.

The intensity of the attacks, the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the lack of any apparent exit plan set the stage for a prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences. Safe havens in the Mideast like Dubai have seen incoming fire; hundreds of thousands of airline passengers are stranded around the globe; oil prices shot up; and U.S. allies pledged to help stop Iranian missiles and drones.

With no sign of the conflict abating anytime soon, Trump said operations are likely to last four to five weeks but that he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”

He said U.S. forces were determined to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, wipe out its navy, prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensure that it cannot continue to support allied groups like Lebanon's Hezbollah, which fired missiles at Israel, drawing retaliatory airstrikes.

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Updated: 2:06 PM CST

Iraqi Shiites hold pictures of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Tehran, during a symbolic funeral, in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

CCI officially launches MentorAbility Hub

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Preview

CCI officially launches MentorAbility Hub

By Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Yesterday at 11:00 PM CST

Career Connections Inc. officially launched its role as Manitoba’s new MentorAbility hub last week, with leaders across government and Indigenous communities lauding its long-standing commitment to inclusive employment.

Representing Brandon East MLA Glen Simard, executive assistant Ray Berthelette delivered congratulations on behalf of the provincial government, calling the appointment “a significant milestone, not only for your organization, but for communities across the province.”

“Career Connections Inc. has long demonstrated leadership in advancing inclusive employment opportunities and supporting Manitobans in building meaningful careers,” Berthelette said. “Being selected as the provincial hub reflects the organization’s strong community partnerships and commitment to accessibility and equity.”

MentorAbility, co-ordinated nationally by the Canadian Association of Supported Employment, connects job seekers with disabilities with employers for mentorships that build workplace confidence and networks.

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Yesterday at 11:00 PM CST