Editorials – Brandon Sun

Opinion

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks to the media at the legislature in Edmonton, on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken

Provinces must prioritize protecting voter information

4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:35 AM CDT

“I think all jurisdictions should take a very hard look at the security provisions that they have within their legislation. And also, I think that legislatures should take a look at the penalty provisions, to hopefully deter anyone who might consider misusing the list.”

— Former Alberta chief electoral officer Lorne Gibson

Provincial governments across the country need to do far more to protect the integrity of voter information and make political parties in particular accountable for breaching privacy laws.

Earlier this year, a separatist group called the Centurion Project had made the names and addresses of nearly three million Alberta voters publicly accessible in a database on its website. The website was shut down after Elections Alberta filed a court injunction.

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Opinion

Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, said 12 measles cases were confirmed on Monday alone that traced back to Manitoba Ag Days, calling it “our highest number at any point during this outbreak.” (Mike Deal/Winnipeg Free Press files)

Manitoba is leading, in some very bad ways

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Manitoba is leading, in some very bad ways

4 minute read Sunday, May. 10, 2026

The alarming news that Manitoba has declared an emergency over skyrocketing rates of HIV infection provides more evidence that this province is suffering a profound breakdown in essential public health.

Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, told reporters at a news conference this week that there has been a steady increase in the number of HIV cases over the last six years. Last year, Manitoba identified 328 new cases of the deadly virus, up from 90 in 2019.

Roussin said Manitoba’s rate of HIV infection is now nearly 20 per 100,000 people, which is 3.5 times higher than the national rate of 5.5 per cent. In declaring a public health emergency, Roussin said he hoped to “raise that level of urgency (and) raise our co-ordination.”

Unfortunately, as Manitoba struggles to deal with HIV, it is also battling the rampant spread of measles. Through the first four months of this year, Manitoba health officials confirmed 519 new cases and another 42 probable cases. That is more in one-third of a year than the province confirmed through the entirety of 2025.

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Sunday, May. 10, 2026

Opinion

Merits of census worth defending

4 minute read Friday, May. 8, 2026

“The Census isn’t Liberal or Conservative. It belongs to every community that needs to know who it serves. Refusing to be counted as a protest doesn’t hurt the government of the day — it hurts the future planners, advocates and builders who needed to know you were here.”

— Trent Bartley, 94.7 Star FM

In his Facebook post on Friday morning, local radio personality Trent Bartley took a moment to defend a long-standing federal government program that has provided valuable information to Canadians since 1871: the Canadian Census.

Over the last few decades, there has been a growing distrust of the mandatory census in certain Canadian circles, one that has taken on decidedly partisan leanings. The latest photo making the rounds on social media has one census notification marked up “Return to Sender,” with a message to the Liberal government that reads, “Hey Carney, your manufactured ‘majority’ Govt is illegitimate. You don’t deserve my information.”

Opinion

Speaker Tom Lindsey heads towards the Assembly Chamber for Question Period Wednesday afternoon. Lindsey stepped into controversy recently by banning certain words from the legislative assembly chamber. (Mike Deal/Winnipeg Free Press)

Did Speaker go too far in limiting free speech?

5 minute read Preview

Did Speaker go too far in limiting free speech?

5 minute read Thursday, May. 7, 2026

Both Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and NDP House Leader Nahanni Fontaine have publicly stated that Speaker Tom Lindsey was wrong to ban politicians from calling each other racist, bigoted, misogynist, homophobic or transphobic.

And in fact, Kinew told CBC Manitoba “Information Radio” host Marcy Markusa on Thursday morning that he has asked Lindsey to reverse his decision.

Are the premier and Fontaine right to complain about these restrictions, and has the Speaker gone too far in limiting free speech? It’s a complicated question, with an equally complicated answer.

Last Monday, Lindsey spoke in the Manitoba legislature just before the start of question period, saying that he had heard complaint and concerns from members of the public and school groups about MLA behaviour in the chamber.

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Thursday, May. 7, 2026

Opinion

Brandon's Deb Gray picks up litter in the flower bed of the downtown YMCA, while her husband Brent stands by with a garbage bag, during the city's third annual downtown spring cleanup in 2024. This year's effort happens today. (Michele McDougall/The Brandon Sun files)

Spring cleanup good way to help city’s downtown

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Spring cleanup good way to help city’s downtown

4 minute read Wednesday, May. 6, 2026

It’s a regular spring tradition for Manitobans — with the melting of the snow and the longer days of sunshine and warm weather, our city streets and walkways always have a rather careworn look when spring rolls around.

There’s garbage on the sidewalks and covering the sewer drains, and the multiple eyesores of broken mattresses and other useless household materials that have been casually tossed aside under trees or in garbage bins where they don’t belong by often thoughtless citizens.

And that’s a shame.

It’s one of the realities of community living that we all have a responsibility to maintain our neighbourhoods for the benefit of everyone. Not only does that kind of social responsibility help boost our community pride, it tells visitors to our city more about us than we could ever put to words.

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Wednesday, May. 6, 2026

Opinion

Louise Arbour speaks after being named the next governor general during a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. Prime Minister Mark Carney has named retired Supreme Court justice Arbour as Canada's next governor general. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Arbour an inspired choice for governor general’s role

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Arbour an inspired choice for governor general’s role

4 minute read Wednesday, May. 6, 2026

“Louise Arbour is outspoken and courageous. She is a woman of facts: she speaks only when she has something to say, and when she speaks, it matters.”

— Louise Otis, McGill University law professor

“The comments that Louise Arbour has made in respect of the state of Israel and the people of Israel are, in fact, a disgrace and I stand by those words.”

— Then Harper-era Treasury Board president, and Manitoba MP Vic Toews, 2008

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Wednesday, May. 6, 2026

Opinion

An RCMP officer instructs asylum seekers as they wait for processing after crossing the border at Roxham Road from New York into Canada, Friday March 24, 2023, in Champlain, N.Y. The closure of a rural southern Quebec road used by thousands of asylum seekers to enter Canada from the United States hasn't stopped would-be refugees from arriving, federal data shows. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Shifting costs merely shifts responsibility

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Shifting costs merely shifts responsibility

4 minute read Monday, May. 4, 2026

Canada has been, over the years, a model country when it comes to taking in and resettling refugee claimants.

According to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website, this country resettled 51,081 refugees in 2023 alone, positioning Canada as second in the world in terms of sheer numbers.

For a country that likes to view itself as a welcoming and multicultural nation, those numbers suggest a well-earned reputation.

Many of these refugees end up in Manitoba, with this province receiving between 1,500 and 2,200 individuals per year from many different countries. And some often make their way here to Brandon and Westman as well, with significant numbers from Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine in recent years.

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Monday, May. 4, 2026

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Opinion

Pro-government demonstrators chant slogans as they hold Iranian flags and a poster of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in a gathering after announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the war with the United States and Israel, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, Square, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran and its potential role in the United Nations

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Iran and its potential role in the United Nations

4 minute read Monday, May. 4, 2026

There is an ongoing conversation, globally, about what the international order looks like in a post-Trump world, as the hegemonic power of the United States wanes.

In some cases, that has meant shaking hands and brokering deals with countries Canada has had tense relationships with in the past, such as China.

Now, we are faced with a new question: how to treat Iran?

Conservative members of Parliament have criticized the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney for refusing to follow its allies in challenging the nomination of Iran to two different UN bodies — the month-long review conference on the global nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and the UN’s economic and social council.

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Monday, May. 4, 2026

Opinion

Brandon Transit buses cue at the downtown terminal. Under a new transit plan adopted by council, increased evening buses for some routes and primary bus stop improvements could happen as soon as next spring. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Public transit worth a larger investment

4 minute read Preview

Public transit worth a larger investment

4 minute read Yesterday at 9:57 PM CDT

“Will the premier reverse course and start to repair some of the damage that he’s done with his broken promises from the last election, and instead … restore the 50-50 funding arrangement for transit in our province?”

— Wab Kinew, March 12, 2018

“We need to restore funding to transit, 50-50 funding, we need to do that, and we need to ensure that we allow our municipalities to move toward functional transit so people can … rely on buses being there when they need to be there.”

— Adrien Sala, April 5, 2022

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Yesterday at 9:57 PM CDT

Opinion

Brandon East MLA and Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard outside the former Sobey’s grocery store location in Brandon’s south end. Simard said the Sun’s reporting on the Sobeys lease is what gave him the idea to propose the legislation. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

A welcome step toward increasing competition

4 minute read Preview

A welcome step toward increasing competition

4 minute read Friday, May. 1, 2026

At a time when a growing number of Manitobans are struggling to afford food for their families, measures taken by the Kinew government to increase competition in the province’s grocery industry are a welcome step.

The government is using provisions of the Property Controls for Grocery Stores and Supermarkets Act in order to challenge restrictive contracts that Sobeys has with respect to properties at two stores in Winnipeg, one in Steinbach and one here in Brandon. The law permits the removal of such contractual clauses if the Municipal Board deems it to be in the public interest to do so, and this is the first time the new provisions have been applied.

In explaining his government’s reasoning for taking this unprecedented step, Public Service Delivery Minister Mintu Sandhu told reporters on Thursday that “Each and every one of these predatory property controls is against the public interest. When we let companies like Sobeys block competition, it makes it easier for them to raise prices.” Those comments are supported by Premier Wab Kinew, who says “We don’t think that that’s in the public interest. I think we all understand that when there’s more competition, there are better prices.”

We agree. Limiting the opportunity for consumers to find a better bargain for their food is never in the public interest, and the action taken by the government this week is long overdue. The former Sobeys location on 18th Street South in Brandon has sat unused for years. If that property can be occupied by another grocery retailer — and increase retail grocery choices in the city as a consequence — all Brandonites will benefit.

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Friday, May. 1, 2026

Opinion

Brandon City Hall on Ninth Street. The manner in which the city has pushed to lower the default speed limit is perplexing, but maybe a city report to council on the subject suggests one possible answer for some of the confusion. (File)

Speed limit change requires consensus

4 minute read Preview

Speed limit change requires consensus

4 minute read Friday, May. 1, 2026

If you are confused about the City of Brandon’s plans regarding speed limits in the city, you aren’t alone.

Brandon city councillors voted on April 20 to write to Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard, asking for the power to set the city’s own default speed limit. A letter was also sent to Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor, as well as related provincial departments.

Simard and Naylor were apparently surprised by the request. Naylor told the Sun that “We are always happy to work with municipalities, particularly when it’s related to the safety of Manitobans, but municipalities do have the power to change their own bylaws and do not need provincial approval to do so.”

Simard’s response was even clearer: “Cities and municipalities have the option to be able to implement speed restrictions as they wish.”

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Friday, May. 1, 2026

Opinion

Manitoba's Minister of Finance Adrien Sala arrives to take part in a meeting with Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and provincial and territorial finance ministers in Ottawa on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The correct measures for crypto mining, data centres

4 minute read Preview

The correct measures for crypto mining, data centres

4 minute read Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026

The provincial government has tabled two pieces of legislation aimed at giving Manitoba Hydro greater control over the ability of certain types of certain tech-based businesses to draw power from the province’s electricity grid. Bill 20 would permit Hydro to temporarily reduce the flow of electricity to cryptocurrency operators in order to preserve grid stability, while Bill 39 would give Hydro the authority to charge cryptocurrency operations and data centres up to double the standard rates for electricity.

We support the legislation and the government’s reasoning as to why the two bills are necessary. They reflect the fact that the need for electricity is surging in Manitoba, at a pace that could result in the demand exceeding the available supply within the next decade, if not earlier. We also agree with Finance Minister Adrien Sala’s characterization of cryptocurrency operations as “low value” components of the province’s economy, in that they provide few jobs relative to the vast amount of electricity they consume on an ongoing basis.

The minister told reporters last week that “We need to address the pressures that are being placed on the grid,” and insists that bills 20 and 39 are a necessary response to the proliferation of commercial activities that draw huge amounts of electricity, often at times when the demand on the grid is at its greatest level. The minister’s arguments are valid, but he could have also referred to the many serious questions regarding the alleged social utility and economic benefits of crypto mining.

Advocates for cryptocurrency operations contend that the industry provides essential, decentralized financial infrastructure and supports renewable energy expansion. Opponents of such businesses respond, however, that crypto mining is causing serious environmental harm throughout the world. They argue that the facilities consume huge amounts of electricity at a time when the demand for that vital commodity is rapidly increasing. Such operations, they contend, could force the construction of additional electricity production infrastructure, inevitably leading to higher electricity rates for everybody.

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Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026

Opinion

Federal Liberals must follow Manitoba’s lead

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Federal Liberals must follow Manitoba’s lead

4 minute read Tuesday, Apr. 28, 2026

It is always easy to criticize elected officials when they make bad decisions and ignore good advice. It should be just as easy to give them credit when they make good decisions based on that advice.

Eleven days ago, we discussed steps currently being taken by various governments to ban social media use by children. We noted that delegates to the recent Liberal Party national convention in Montreal had passed a non-binding resolution to support such a ban. We reviewed some of the overwhelming medical and scientific evidence of the harm that social media is doing to children, including here in Canada. Finally, we also pointed out that the idea of banning social media use by children appears to have a broad base of support across the country, including among the opposition Conservatives and New Democrats.

Based on all of those facts, we called upon the federal government to emulate the example set by Australia, which has already banned the use of social media by children, by implementing similar measures here in Canada.

The Carney government has not yet indicated whether it plans to act on the issue, but Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has. On Saturday night, he announced that his government will soon be taking steps to ban children from using social media accounts and artificial intelligence chatbots. He justified the need for doing so by saying “These tools have been designed by … people who understand our psychology, who understand our biology … They have designed these tools and optimized them to hack our children’s reward system in their brain.”

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Tuesday, Apr. 28, 2026

Opinion

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during an announcement on the Canada Strong Fund, Canada's first sovereign wealth fund, in Ottawa on Monday, April 27, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

An interesting idea, but more information needed

4 minute read Preview

An interesting idea, but more information needed

4 minute read Monday, Apr. 27, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced yesterday that his government plans to create a sovereign wealth fund, which will be named the Canada Strong Fund. He characterizes the proposed fund as both a “national savings and investment account” and “the peoples’ fund.”

A “backgrounder” document released immediately after the PM’s announcement says the objective of the fund is “to give all Canadians a direct stake in the Build Canada agenda.” It explains that the fund will invest in strategic Canadian projects and companies alongside other investors, with the objective of achieving commercial returns to build Canada’s wealth. “From infrastructure to advanced manufacturing to energy and mining,” the document says, “the fund will have a mandate to deliver market-rate returns for Canadians across the economy.”

The new fund will operate independently from government via a new Crown corporation, which will be guided by a CEO and an independent board of qualified directors. The government claims that such a level of independence and professional management ensures the fund can make long-term, economically sound investment decisions. It argues that the planned management structure is widely regarded as the “global best practice” because it strengthens transparency, credibility and long-term performance through consistent, expert management.

The government plans to contribute $25 billion in seed capital to the fund over the next three years, and says it will grow over time from both the returns that it generates and through other assets that government may allocate to it. It also says that it intends to offer Canadians the opportunity to invest in the fund through “a new, retail investment product” that will be available to all Canadians, and will be easy to purchase, hold and sell. Those factors, it says, will enable Canadians to “share in the upside, while their initial invested capital will be protected.”

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Monday, Apr. 27, 2026

Opinion

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine says reforms introduced by the NDP government are making a difference. (Mike Deal/Winnipeg Free Press files)

Canadian politics in throes of furious fever

4 minute read Preview

Canadian politics in throes of furious fever

4 minute read Sunday, Apr. 26, 2026

It’s getting pretty ugly out there for an elected official.

Charges pressed this week against a 72-year-old man for allegedly sending St. Johns MLA Nahanni Fontaine threatening, racist letters last summer have brought to light the reality that elected officials — particularly women and members of racialized groups — are facing growing vitriol.

The accused has been charged with criminal harassment and uttering threats, and has been released on an undertaking.

Fontaine, unfortunately, has faced this kind of cruelty before. She told the Free Press that threatening or other unacceptable messages have been sent her way in an “ongoing” fashion, ramping up after the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Sunday, Apr. 26, 2026

Opinion

Conservative MP John Brassard rises in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Friday, May 6, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Recommendations merely partisan politics run amok

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Recommendations merely partisan politics run amok

4 minute read Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

The House of Commons standing committee on access to information, privacy and ethics has issued a lengthy report to Parliament that recommends the federal Conflict of Interest Act be amended to force Prime Minister Mark Carney and future Canadian prime ministers to divest their investment portfolios within 60 days of assuming office, as opposed to merely placing those assets them in a blind trust.

Committee chair John Brassard, a Conservative MP, told reporters on Thursday that “The committee considers that the act should be amended to establish separate rules for the position of prime minister because individuals with greater decision-making authority should be held, and must be held, to a higher standard.”

The report, which is not binding on the government, reflects the opinion of the opposition MPs on the committee, who currently hold the majority of committee seats. The Liberal MPs on the committee, who hold a minority of committee seats, have issued a dissenting report of their own. The two documents have re-ignited a long-simmering debate over the adequacy of measures intended to ensure that elected officials, high officials in particular, are free of conflicts of interests that could influence their decisions while serving in government.

Those on the “divestment” side of the argument contend that elected officials have an understandable interest in ensuring the value of their personal holdings are not harmed by their decisions. They contend that a blind trust isn’t genuinely “blind,” given that public office holders know what their assets were when they were turned over to a trustee for management.

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Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

May 13, 2026

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