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A motorist passes by an Alberta government sponsored digital billboard on the QEII Highway near Airdrie, Alta., Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. The Alberta government has launched an ad campaign for the Oct. 19 referendum. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

‘It’s so emotional’: Fear and unity on Alberta’s referendum campaign trail

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:20 AM CDT

EDMONTON - Alberta’s summer of unrest over its role in Confederation is striding into a final phase of rallies, lawn sign rivalry and hyperbolic warnings of doom and demise.

With one month to go before the Oct. 19 referendum, drivers going through many neighbourhoods can spot red and white lawn signs urging Albertans to vote to stand with Canada.

Blue signs are there too, supporting Alberta going its own way, but they look different. Keith Wilson, co-leader of the pro-separatist Let Alberta Decide campaign, says there’s a reason.

“We've had people who are supportive but don't want to put a lawn sign on their home,” he said in an interview.

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Gen. Jennie Carignan speaks during a press conference while attending the 28th annual Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defence Conference in Victoria, on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Gen. Jennie Carignan not selected for senior NATO post

Kyle Duggan and Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Gen. Jennie Carignan not selected for senior NATO post

Kyle Duggan and Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:11 PM CDT

OTTAWA - NATO chiefs of defence have elected German Gen. Carsten Breuer as the next chair of the alliance's military committee, over Canada's top military commander. 

Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan ran against Breuer for the top NATO position.

NATO chiefs of defence met in Copenhagen, Denmark, Saturday to choose the next chair. It's a prestige posting but it doesn't carry the same level of clout as the alliance's most senior role of supreme allied commander, a powerful command position that usually goes to an American.

Only three Canadians have ever served as chair of the military committee, and the last time was during the Afghanistan war in the mid-2000s.

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Updated: Yesterday at 5:11 PM CDT

Local

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, greets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, in the courtyard of the Palais de l’Elysee in Paris, on Friday, June 12, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Carney and Macron to meet in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon on Sunday

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Carney and Macron to meet in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon on Sunday

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 4:55 PM CDT

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron are holding a symbolic meeting on an archipelago 20 kilometres off the southern coast of Newfoundland on Sunday, in what both countries say is a show of unity and mutual respect.

The two leaders will hold a working lunch and attend a wreath-laying ceremony in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, a French territory which is second only to Hans Island -- on the northern coast of Greenland and shared between Canada and Denmark -- as the geographically closest European territory to Canada.

The meeting comes as Canada and the European Union are in talks to create a tighter alliance amid ongoing animosity with the United States and President Donald Trump.

"In a world characterized by a return to power politics, geopolitical tensions and new dependencies, France and Canada share a common ambition: to work together — and with all countries that share these values — to strengthen their capacity to make decisions and act independently," a spokesperson for Macron's office said in an email.

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Updated: Yesterday at 4:55 PM CDT

Business

Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne attends a news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Ottawa’s summer spending flurry offset by stronger GDP, oil revenues

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Ottawa’s summer spending flurry offset by stronger GDP, oil revenues

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:21 AM CDT

OTTAWA - The federal government likely finds itself in a better fiscal position as it heads into the fall session of Parliament this week, thanks in no small part to some rosier economic results.

One of the headlines coming out of the Canada Investment Summit last week that flew under the radar was Prime Minister Mark Carney's announcement that the federal government is on track to balance its operating budget a year ahead of schedule.

When Carney took office in 2025, he reoriented the federal budget framework toward promoting capital investments in a bid to address Canada's long-standing productivity shortfalls.

The Liberals also have outlined $60 billion in existing government spending they plan to trim over five years, in part by downsizing the federal public service.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:21 AM CDT

Local

Brian Blanchard with a frozen turkey for sale in front of the freezer at his farm on Friday. Blanchard and his partner, Alicia Dyck, raised 100 turkeys this year for sale. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Turkeys ‘very easy’ addition to home farm

By Connor McDowell Local Journalism Initiative 4 minute read Preview

Turkeys ‘very easy’ addition to home farm

By Connor McDowell Local Journalism Initiative 4 minute read Yesterday at 12:06 AM CDT

BOISSEVAIN — The Thanksgiving turkey harvest has arrived for part-time farmers Brian Blanchard and Alicia Dyck at their variety farm south of Boissevain.

The couple this week processed their last load of turkeys and expect to sell 60 whole birds to customers ahead of the upcoming holiday. In an interview with the Sun, Blanchard said the turkeys are the newest addition to their home farm business that sells a variety of meat.

“People were asking for it,” Blanchard said, walking through the soft mud in front of the empty turkey enclosure. “We’re finding the turkey meat is very popular.”

Blanchard raised 100 turkeys this year from May through September, and recently brought the flock to a butcher in Niverville to get the birds packaged for the holiday.

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Yesterday at 12:06 AM CDT

Local

Brandon courthouse. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

‘Jig is up,’ judge tells woman in failed bid for release

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Preview

‘Jig is up,’ judge tells woman in failed bid for release

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:30 AM CDT

A provincial court judge told a Brandon woman accused of stealing from various retailers and skipping her court dates over a two-year span that the “jig is up” before denying her bail on Friday.

“It’s time to face the music and set some trial dates,” Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said in court while speaking via teleconference with the 29-year-old woman, who was held in custody at the Brandon police station.

Gina Schnake has been charged with five counts of theft under $5,000 and five counts of failing to attend court for offences that occurred between May 2024 and June 2026.

In the first incident on May 22, 2024, Schnake is alleged to have stolen from Shoppers Drug Mart on 18th Street before fleeing in a taxi, Crown attorney Yaso Mathu said.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:30 AM CDT

Local

Quentin Robinson is running to represent Ward 7 in the Oct. 28 election, challenging longtime councillor Shawn Berry. (Connor McDowell/Brandon Sun files)

Former NDP candidate takes on Berry for Ward 7

By Alex Lambert 3 minute read Preview

Former NDP candidate takes on Berry for Ward 7

By Alex Lambert 3 minute read Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

A former provincial and federal NDP candidate is running for city council in Brandon.

Quentin Robinson is registered to run in Ward 7 in the Oct. 28 election against longtime councillor Shawn Berry.

“I am working for the health and well-being of the very place that I live. I have skin in the game,” Robinson said.

Ward 7 encompasses the city’s southwest corner, west of 26th Street and south of the CN rail line.

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Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

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Brandon city council Ward 9 candidate Keith Waterfield stands on Ninth Street in Brandon on Thursday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Museum administrator enters race for Ward 9

By Alex Lambert 3 minute read Preview

Museum administrator enters race for Ward 9

By Alex Lambert 3 minute read Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

The executive director of the Brandon General Museum and Archives is taking his shot at a seat on city council.

Keith Waterfield, who is registered as a candidate in Ward 9, said he is running in the ward he lives in because he worries that culture, heritage and arts aren’t high enough of a priority for the city.

“I think Brandon has a really strong community and history,” Waterfield said. “We have all these heritage buildings like McKenzie Seeds … that we need to look after, we need to preserve,” he said in an interview at the downtown museum.

“I’m a passionate person about my community and I’ve reached a certain age and started to think about how can I give back to my community. How can I give back to my neighbours and do something more with my life?” he said.

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Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

Local

Brandon School Division assistant superintendent of student services Susan Gilleshammer (right) stands with NorthStar Project project facilitator Katey Rogowsky in the hallway at Vincent Massey High School on Friday afternoon before the after-school tutoring and mentoring program starts. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun)

NorthStar Project nears capacity, seeks space

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Preview

NorthStar Project nears capacity, seeks space

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

The NorthStar Project is outgrowing its temporary home at Vincent Massey High School.

The Brandon School Division’s after-school tutoring and mentoring program has been operating for 16 weeks and now has 43 students registered, just seven short of capacity, project facilitator Katey Rogowsky told the BSD board of trustees during its general meeting on Monday.

“During its first 16 weeks, we recorded 697 individual student visits and more than 2,314 attendance hours. Participants have also completed 316 volunteer and community-service hours,” she said.

“We were just a dream and a hope, but now it’s a reality.”

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Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

Local

Zeenat Oyetunjai lets natural light into the upstairs living room of her home in Brandon. Oyetunjai was selected by Habitat for Humanity for its affordable homeownership program. (Rylee Gerrard/The Brandon Sun)

Mother ‘empowered’ in her Habitat home

By Rylee Gerrard 3 minute read Preview

Mother ‘empowered’ in her Habitat home

By Rylee Gerrard 3 minute read Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

For Brandon resident Zeenat Oyetunjai, home ownership seemed like a long and costly endeavour she wasn’t sure she’d be able to accomplish — but on Friday, she got the keys to her very first home.

“It feels like I’ve been hustling to climb, and I feel like I’ve reached the destination because it’s a big milestone to own a house,” Oyetunjai said.

“Owning this makes me feel empowered, it doesn’t make me feel poor.”

Oyetunjai and her family were selected for the affordable home ownership program offered through Habitat for Humanity Manitoba.

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Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

Local

The Brandon Police Service crest. (File)

Woman assaulted; intruder chokes victim

2 minute read Preview

Woman assaulted; intruder chokes victim

2 minute read Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

DOMESTIC ASSAULT

A 41-year-old Brandon man is facing multiple charges after a woman was assaulted twice in one week.

Officers were called to a residence on the 300 block of 18th Street around 12:40 p.m. Thursday, Brandon police said in a news release on Friday.

Police said the suspect assaulted a 35-year-old woman and determined he had also assaulted her the week before.

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Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

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