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Opinion

The Manitoba Hydro Brandon generating station off Victoria Avenue East is silhouetted against a colourful sky just before sunrise. Dennis LeNeveu suggests geothermal heating makes more sense than puring billions of dollars into the generating station. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun files)

Go with shared geothermal heating

By Dennis Morgan LeNeveu 4 minute read Yesterday at 10:31 PM CDT

The Brandon Sun article of Aug. 21, 2026 by Peter Chura of Manitoba Hydro claims the proposed Brandon natural gas plant is the best of available options to ensure reliable, affordable energy for Manitobans in the years ahead.

The plant is required to alleviate peak electricity demand during cold spells. The article omits the option of closed-loop shared geothermal heating to replace the proposed $3-billion natural gas plant. There would be large energy savings from a province-wide conversion to shared geothermal heating from electrical resistance heating.

The savings would be greater than the increase in electrical energy required for a complete transition to geothermal from natural gas heating. The net savings in yearly electrical energy could be used to reduce the peak demand required for cold spells.

Standard building hot water tanks across the province can be engineered to transfer heat into the main geothermal loop during extreme winter cold spells to eliminate any peak energy demand remaining after the large energy savings from a complete geothermal transition.

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Opinion

First day of school is a promise

By Ann Evangelista 5 minute read Preview

First day of school is a promise

By Ann Evangelista 5 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2026

This week, thousands of Manitoba students will walk through school doors carrying backpacks filled with new supplies, new hopes and, for some, new worries.

For parents and caregivers, this may be a familiar September routine — shopping for school supplies, adjusting schedules, preparing lunches and getting children ready for another year of learning.

For educators and school staff, it is the beginning of another demanding year.

But for Manitoba, this week should mean something more. It should be a renewal of our promise to every child.

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Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2026

Opinion

U.S. President Donald Trump (right) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of a news conference in Palm Beach, Fla., in late December 2025. (The Associated Press files)

Come September …

By Gwynne Dyer 5 minute read Preview

Come September …

By Gwynne Dyer 5 minute read Monday, Sep. 7, 2026

Making predictions in print is rarely a good idea, and saying “I told you so” is always rude, but rules are made to be broken. On June 10, one week before the short-lived “memorandum of understanding” on the Middle East war was signed, I wrote a piece on that war that predicted what would happen next.

It said: “The next few months should be eventful but not alarming: ceasefires made, broken and remade on the U.S.-Iran front, while Gaza rots … Come September, however, things will probably start to get exciting, because the elections will create deadlines. Not for Iran, of course, but for Trump and for Netanyahu.”

I’m not claiming any great insight here. To the contrary, I’m pointing out that the probable course of events was so obvious as to be almost inevitable. The Iranians had already won just by not losing, and Donald Trump had no cards left to play.

It wasn’t yet clear that his cartoonish defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, had already managed to squander most of America’s large stockpile of precision-guided bombs and missiles with no visible effect on Iranian strategy, but that doesn’t really matter anyway. American weapons are of no relevance so long as Iran can keep control of the Strait of Hormuz.

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Monday, Sep. 7, 2026

Opinion

Gloria Steinem speaks at a rally organized by Women’s March NYC in New York in January 2019. (The Associated Press files)

The legacy of Gloria Steinem: A woman who mattered

By Rebecca Sullivan 7 minute read Preview

The legacy of Gloria Steinem: A woman who mattered

By Rebecca Sullivan 7 minute read Friday, Sep. 4, 2026

Ten years ago, I had the honour of meeting Gloria Steinem. It was International Women’s Day 2016: Donald Trump was a joke that would supposedly never happen and #MeToo was still two years away. Yet, the clouds were gathering.

Being in the presence of Steinem, one of our greatest witnesses to a feminist revolution, was a stark reminder of how far we had come but also how far we still had to go.

How, then, to encapsulate the legacy of someone who, according to the New York Times, was “the personification of the women’s movement”? Well, the American women’s movement at least.

Why, despite her influence, do I specify the United States? Because, as a chronicler of Canada’s distinct women’s movement, I want to reflect on everything Steinem gave us, but also on the ways she may have overshadowed the lives and legacies of other feminists.

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Friday, Sep. 4, 2026

Opinion

Alberta separatists gather at the legislature in Edmonton on Aug. 29 for a protest organized by the Alberta Prosperity Project. (The Canadian Press files)

Will Trump back Alta. separation?

By Donald Barry 6 minute read Preview

Will Trump back Alta. separation?

By Donald Barry 6 minute read Friday, Sep. 4, 2026

In a few weeks, Albertans will be asked in a referendum whether they want the province to remain in Canada or move toward a second referendum on independence.

An independent Alberta would not only have to meet the requirements of statehood — people, territory, an effective government and the capacity to deal with states — but it would also have to be recognized by other countries, most importantly the United States. Without recognition, an aspiring state has no international standing. It could not engage in diplomacy, enter into international agreements or join international organizations.

The Alberta referendum will be Canada’s third, after those in Quebec in 1980 and 1995. Given the deep ties between Canada and the United States, it’s not surprising that, in both earlier cases, American governments under presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton supported a united Canada.

But U.S. President Donald Trump, who has frequently threatened to make Canada a 51st state, has not openly declared his support of a united Canada in the run-up to the Alberta vote, and some around him have spoken positively about the prospect of an independent Alberta.

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Friday, Sep. 4, 2026

Opinion

Andrew Stevens and Catherine E. Connelly write that Indigenous workers can face exclusion even from entry-level positions. (The Associated Press files)

How bias keeps Indigenous job applicants from getting hired

By Andrew Stevens and Catherine E. Connelly 5 minute read Preview

How bias keeps Indigenous job applicants from getting hired

By Andrew Stevens and Catherine E. Connelly 5 minute read Friday, Sep. 4, 2026

Indigenous workers in Canada experience higher unemployment rates and lower rates of labour market participation than non-Indigenous workers. Policy discussions about closing this gap have often highlighted education, training and skills development as important pathways to employment.

But what happens when people acquire the necessary qualifications, submit applications and still don’t receive a response?

Our new research on hiring practices in the food services industry suggests that improving access to skills and education alone doesn’t fully address employment disparities. Instead, we must also consider what happens after people acquire these qualifications: how employers evaluate, select and ultimately reject or advance job applicants.

Our findings reveal that Indigenous job seekers can face barriers at the very point of entry into the workforce, where decisions are shaped not only by qualifications and experience but also by perceptions of identity and workplace fit.

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Friday, Sep. 4, 2026

Opinion

Efficiency Manitoba chief executive officer Colleen Kuruluk writes that some of the most valuable energy infrastructure over the next decade “will be built into homes, schools, businesses and farms, where energy efficiency upgrades improve comfort, lower costs, and support productivity.” (Mike Deal/Winnipeg Free Press files)

Manitoba’s next power plant already under construction

By Colleen Kuruluk 4 minute read Preview

Manitoba’s next power plant already under construction

By Colleen Kuruluk 4 minute read Thursday, Sep. 3, 2026

Across Manitoba, we’re rapidly moving toward a more electrified future, as homes, businesses, industries and transportation increasingly turn to electricity. This transition offers a significant opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it also requires us to rethink how we plan for and participate in our energy future.

Manitoba Hydro’s 2025 integrated resource plan (IRP), currently under review with the Public Utilities Board, projects that our province will need significant additional capacity over the next decade to meet growing electricity demand. Much of the public discussion following the IRP has focused on how to meet that growing demand and what new generation sources may need to be built.

These are important conversations, but I believe there’s another question that deserves just as much attention. How much of that growing demand can we address by using energy more efficiently?

Earlier this year, I joined energy leaders from around the world in Montreal at the International Energy Agency’s Global Conference on Energy Efficiency. One message I heard consistently throughout the conference was that energy efficiency is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s an essential resource and a cornerstone of energy security, affordability, and economic competitiveness.

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Thursday, Sep. 3, 2026

Opinion

Education Minister Tracy Schmidt announces last week that the government is introducing a pilot program for a new health and physical education curriculum that includes an a policy making in-person physical education mandatory for all students from kindergarten to Grade 12. (Mike Deal/Winnipeg Free Press files)

Recognizing the importance of physical education for kids

By Jerry Storie 6 minute read Preview

Recognizing the importance of physical education for kids

By Jerry Storie 6 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 1, 2026

The message from Premier Wab Kinew and Education Minister Tracy Schmidt last week about the importance of exercise for young people was timely and important — but it is not new.

Some 2,000 years ago, Plato reportedly said, “In order to succeed in life, a person has two means: education and physical activity. Not separately, one for the soul and the other for the body, but for the two together.”

That was the message being reinforced last week by our provincial leaders.

The decision to focus on looking after our bodies as part of a healthy lifestyle has seldom been consistently followed in education or in our daily lives. The re-introduction of daily physical education into our schools will only be meaningful if everyone, including our children, their families and schools and health-care professionals, take up the challenge of making physical health a priority.

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Tuesday, Sep. 1, 2026

Opinion

A person takes a picture of the newly unveiled sign for Lake Ontario at Fifty Point Conservation Area in Grimsby, Ont., on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Keito Newman

Abrupt lake renaming recalls centuries of colonial erasure

By Nicole Rosen 5 minute read Preview

Abrupt lake renaming recalls centuries of colonial erasure

By Nicole Rosen 5 minute read Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

The ongoing economic spat between Canada and the United States took a strange turn after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order “renaming” Lake Ontario as Lake America.

The lake is the second body of water to be renamed by Trump. In January 2025, he similarly ordered that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America. That same order also officially changed Alaska’s Mount Denali to its colonial name, Mount McKinley.

While many might view Trump’s renamings as comical or unserious, for Indigenous communities, they are reminiscent of centuries of settler-colonial erasure.

What’s in a place name?

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Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

Opinion

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about Canada’s response to new U.S. tariffs as Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief trade negotiator Janice Charette listen during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Aug. 22. (The Canadian Press files)

Knowing history — and not repeating it

By Peter McKenna 5 minute read Preview

Knowing history — and not repeating it

By Peter McKenna 5 minute read Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney summed up the current bilateral trade predicament nicely: “We cannot accept what they’ve offered, and we will not give what they’ve asked.”

Interestingly, there are many similarities between what happened in the fall of 1987 and the trade war happening today between Canada and the United States. It has the same feel to it. And some of the same concerns, for me.

Of course, it’s a very different era and environment today. The circumstances are also not the same. And then there’s U.S. President Donald Trump.

But I can’t help but wonder if the recent turn of events in Canada-U.S. trade relations will resemble those of October 1987. That’s when Canada chose to return to the free trade negotiations and eventually cobble together a deal with the Ronald Reagan administration.

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Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

Opinion

People look out across Lake Ontario and the Toronto Skyline from the Toronto Harbour in Toronto on Aug. 25. Canadians should take U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to Canadian sovereignty seriously, even when they seem like a joke, Cornel Grey writes. (The Canadian Press)

The danger of treating Trump’s sovereignty threats as a joke

By Cornel Grey 5 minute read Preview

The danger of treating Trump’s sovereignty threats as a joke

By Cornel Grey 5 minute read Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

When United States President Donald Trump first began calling former prime minister Justin Trudeau the “governor” of the “great state of Canada” in December 2024, I remember telling friends we should be concerned.

One friend told me I was overreacting. It was just Trump being Trump. By then, Trump’s taste for insults and outlandish claims was well established.

Calling a Canadian prime minister a governor could easily be heard as just another taunt. Early on, even some Canadian officials dismissed his talk of Canada becoming the 51st state as a joke.

Almost two years later, that explanation is harder to sustain. Trump has repeatedly questioned Canadian sovereignty, including insisting he’s serious about making Canada the 51st state.

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Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

Opinion

In this photo from July 2016, museum director Lonnie Bunch stands in front of art representing hip-hop group Public Enemy in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. Bunch is now fighting U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to sanitize American history. (The Associated Press)

History not meant to be nice and comforting

By Allan Levine 5 minute read Preview

History not meant to be nice and comforting

By Allan Levine 5 minute read Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

History is messy. On one hand, it offers uplifting stories of success, courage, human achievement, invention, ingenuity, compassion and kindness. Think of Dr. Jonas Salk and his development of the first successful polio vaccine. Or Viola Desmond, who asserted her civil rights against racial segregation in Nova Scotia.

On the other hand, history is also dark, ugly, mean-spirited and a catalogue of hardships, tragedy and brutality. Consider slavery, the Holocaust, the First and Second World Wars and residential schools — to list only a very few examples of the bloodshed, cruelty, death and depravity that has frequently defined history.

Anyone who has extensively studied history or read a history book knows that the past is complex and rarely black and white; that men and women, whether they are politicians, activists, businessmen, journalists, lawyers and judges, have their good and bad sides. Human perfection is elusive and there are few saints.

Most of us understand this except, it seems, U.S. President Donald Trump and his White House officials. They don’t like presentations of U.S. history, for example, that highlight slavery and the slaughter of Indigenous peoples, key elements of the American past for hundreds of years.

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Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

Opinion

A portion of Manitoba Hydro's wind farm at St. Joseph grabs power from the wind. (File)

Hydro’s strategy: deny, deny, deny

By Tim Sale 4 minute read Preview

Hydro’s strategy: deny, deny, deny

By Tim Sale 4 minute read Friday, Aug. 28, 2026

Here’s a good story …

A man walks into your office and says, “Have I got a deal for you! I want $3 billion (plus perhaps a bit more) to build you something that you might use three or even four times a year, for maybe 30 to 60 hours each time. Sign here.”

You might respond, “and I’ve got a lovely bridge for sale …”

That is exactly what Manitoba Hydro wants — $3 billion or more, plus the fossil fuel bonus for peak load events that happen a few times each year. They assure us that the gas turbines will only be used very occasionally. At the same time, they tell us that we are headed for a crisis of energy supply by 2030.

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Friday, Aug. 28, 2026

Opinion

All for one — except for one

By Judy Waytiuk 5 minute read Friday, Aug. 28, 2026

The dust is still settling. But two things are clear.

The first thing: Canadians, by a vast majority, are glad Prime Minister Mark Carney stood up to U.S. President Donald Trump. Worried about the impact the pending tariff slugfest will have in Canada — precarious jobs, prices, incomes, yes, but we’re not about to knuckle under.

Canadians, and our premiers, are lining up behind and beside Carney to protect his back and flank him with our support. We have a big fat trade war on our hands and we are ready to fight.

The second thing, however … and it’s not disconnected by any means from the trade issues … Alberta Premier Danielle Smith needs to read the room, knock off her cheesy and destructive political posturing, set aside her grievances and stand with the rest of us to fight this thing.

Opinion

The public cannot opt out of interactions with police when their images, voices and personal information may be captured on body cameras and fed into AI, Tandeep Sidhu and Christopher J. Schneider write. (File photo)

AI‑powered policing endangering public’s trust

By Tandeep Sidhu and Christopher J. Schneider 5 minute read Preview

AI‑powered policing endangering public’s trust

By Tandeep Sidhu and Christopher J. Schneider 5 minute read Friday, Aug. 28, 2026

Since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, artificial intelligence (AI) has dominated the cultural landscape. Uptake across various sectors, including law enforcement, quickly followed, usually with minimal foresight and little to no guardrails, like effective policies or laws, to govern AI use.

The largely unregulated use of AI in law enforcement is deeply concerning; it jeopardizes police legitimacy and could compromise the integrity of the justice system because it means the public cannot trust that evidence used by police is not compromised by AI.

Procedural justice, or the perception of fairness, is key to police legitimacy. It’s maintained both through unbiased law enforcement practices and the sharing of accurate information with the public and courts.

It’s well documented that AI programming is rife with bias and distortions of information. Evidence even suggests that AI bias can be “worse than reality.”

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Friday, Aug. 28, 2026

Opinion

Smoke from the Bald Range wildfire west of Summerland, B.C., is shown in this Friday handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - B.C. Wildfire Service (Mandatory Credit)

3 ways to improve Canada’s wildfire advisory capacity

By Ataharul Chowdhury, Khondokar H. Kabir and Ranjan Datta 5 minute read Preview

3 ways to improve Canada’s wildfire advisory capacity

By Ataharul Chowdhury, Khondokar H. Kabir and Ranjan Datta 5 minute read Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026

In mid-July, parts of Ontario woke up under a yellow sky. Nearly 200 forest fires were burning, most of them in the northwest, and Toronto briefly had the worst air quality of any major city in the world. Within days, the smoke had become a cross-border political issue, prompting criticism from lawmakers in the United States and a sharp response from Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Lost in that noise were Ontario’s more than 48,000 farms, drawing on guidance spread across multiple organizations to make difficult decisions. Should farm crews remain in the field, and is livestock feed or water safe? While Canada has announced further investments in tackling wildfires, farm-specific advice remains scattered and unclear.

Producers often turn to online peer networks and agronomists, veterinarians and local Indigenous knowledge keepers when something goes wrong. However, online misinformation is drowning out the legitimate advice.

In a 2025 study, we sought to understand how producers, advisers, policymakers, researchers and industry representatives use social media to get and share advice. We surveyed 51 Ontario agri-food professionals about the impacts of misinformation, online toxicity and why they stopped going online for advice.

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Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026

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