Editorials – Brandon Sun

A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday. Donald Trump and his administration should consider that it is generally a bad idea to start a war unless you have a plan.(The Associated Press)

A plan for war, but none for peace

4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:40 AM CST

“Wars begin when you will, but they do not end when you please.” – Niccolò Machiavelli

Those words were written more than five centuries ago and yet, as we will likely see in the coming days and weeks, they are just as relevant today.

Friday night’s attack on Iran by American and Israeli military forces has killed several senior leaders of the nation that is regarded by many as the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism — politicians and clerics responsible for the deaths of thousands of people within Iran and around the world.

Few will be saddened by their deaths, but we should mourn the many civilians, including children, whose lives have reportedly been lost, both during and after the weekend’s attacks. And we should be gravely concerned that the conflict will continue, and perhaps even escalate, at the cost of even more lives.

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Canada trading with the world as it is

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Canada trading with the world as it is

4 minute read Updated: 8:54 AM CST

In what many will regard as the triumph of economic necessity over principle, Canada and India have agreed to a major reset of the two nations’ relations.

Following meetings over the weekend between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two have announced the formation of a “new partnership,” along with a series of commercial and diplomatic agreements.

That includes a $2.6-billion agreement between the Government of India and Saskatchewan-based Cameco to supply uranium for nuclear energy generation, as well as billions more in deals involving defence, energy and critical minerals, technology and artificial intelligence, food production, education, pharmaceuticals, skilled labour and culture.

The deals are proof that Canada is serious about diversifying its international trading relationships and, in particular, reducing its reliance on trade with the United States. On that point, Carney told reporters yesterday that his government is focused on doubling Canada’s trade with India to $70 billion annually by 2030.

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Updated: 8:54 AM 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

A timely push for more women on city council

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A timely push for more women on city council

5 minute read Friday, Feb. 27, 2026

Many Brandon residents may not be aware of this fact, but this past January marked a very special anniversary when it comes to the city’s election history.

Rhoda E. Power had been a teacher in Brandon at Assiniboine School on 13th Street North between 1917 and 1919 before moving to Minnedosa around 1921. As outlined by Manitoba writer Christian Cassidy in his history blog West End Dumplings, Rhoda met and married George A. Tennant, a CPR brakeman, before moving back to Brandon in 1935.

This was around the peak of the Great Depression, and the city itself was suffering from lack of cash and services.

“The city cut many services to the bone, or did away with them altogether, and was living on lines of credit just to pay the bills for their massive Depression relief costs,” Cassidy wrote.

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Friday, Feb. 27, 2026

Visitors mingle at the Her Seat at the Table open house at The Backyard On Aberdeen in Brandon on Wednesday evening. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Pandering to the U.S. bad look for Poilievre

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Pandering to the U.S. bad look for Poilievre

5 minute read Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

“Canada’s prosperity and security are inseparable from a stable relationship with the U.S. And that is why we should not declare a permanent rupture with our biggest customer and closes neighbour in favour of a strategic partnership for a new world order with Beijing — a regime the prime minister himself said was the biggest threat to Canada just a year ago.

— Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre, Feb. 26.

The leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition really needs to read the room.

And no, I don’t mean the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto, where Poilievre made the comment above on Thursday morning.

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Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks in the foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Carney should replace immigration minister

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Carney should replace immigration minister

4 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney needs to move swiftly to address a problem minister in his caucus who appears either unable or unwilling to do the job they’ve been tasked with.

Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lena Metlege Diab, is under fire this week after government critics — and even fellow Liberal colleagues — assert that the Nova Scotia MP is in over her head when it comes to handling such an important portfolio.

In a story first published by CBC’s French-language Radio-Canada on Wednesday, the leaders of a rising number of immigration-related organizations are questioning why they have been unable to have an audience with Canada’s immigration minister.

“I have seen 14 immigration ministers come and go, and it is truly surprising,” said Stephan Reichhold, executive director of the Quebec-based Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes.

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Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Lena Metlege Diab rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

AI chatbots and teens can be a deadly blend

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AI chatbots and teens can be a deadly blend

4 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026

As if there weren’t enough concerns about the changes artificial intelligence may bring in the future — the displacement of millions of workers, or the potential for AI to disconnect from its human managers and go its own way — there are clear and present dangers that AI companies must be forced to address now.

In September, the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine testified to a U.S. Senate hearing about their son’s interaction with a ChatGPT chatbot.

About how their son had conversations with the chatbot about his plans for suicide. The chatbot, Adam’s parents testified, not only discouraged Adam from talking to his parents, but even went so far as to offer to draft the 16-year-old’s suicide note. Adam committed suicide.

As his father, Matthew Raine, told senators, “ChatGPT told my son, ‘Let’s make this space the first place where someone actually sees you’ … ChatGPT encouraged Adam’s darkest thoughts and pushed him forward. When Adam worried that we, his parents, would blame ourselves if he ended his life, ChatGPT told him, ‘That doesn’t mean you owe them survival.’”

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Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026

Hydro’s harsh realities forced turbine solution

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Hydro’s harsh realities forced turbine solution

5 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026

There’s a lot to be said for the power of pragmatic economics.

That’s a particularly true statement when politicians of a sort find themselves forced to choose the lesser evil — namely what they can live with instead of the perfection they once promised.

Readers may recall that shortly after winning the 2023 provincial election, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew issued a mandate letter to Finance Minister Adrien Sala, the minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro, instructing him to begin working on plans to phase out the on-demand use of the Brandon gas-fired generating station by 2035.

The point of that instruction was to help the government meet its stated goal of making Manitoba Hydro 100 per cent green, as well as the broader goal of making the province carbon-neutral by 2050.

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Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026

The Manitoba Hydro Brandon generating station off Victoria Avenue East is silhouetted against a colourful sky just before sunrise. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun files)

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After court decision on tariffs, what’s next?

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After court decision on tariffs, what’s next?

4 minute read Monday, Feb. 23, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump loves the word tariffs — he’s said so many times.

In fact, he’s said “I love the word tariffs — it’s the most beautiful word in the dictionary.”

The U.S. Supreme Court? Not so much. At least, not when the president claims he can unilaterally impose them.

Friday, a majority of the court struck down Trump’s use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, saying, bluntly, “IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.”

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Monday, Feb. 23, 2026

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Finally some action for dangerous intersection

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Finally some action for dangerous intersection

4 minute read Friday, Feb. 20, 2026

“I crossed this intersection for three years as a BU student. It is easily the most terrifying thing I have ever done, possibly the most dangerous, and I’m an adventurous person. Very happy to see this intersection lit up.”

— Former Brandon University student Sheri Connery, in a Facebook post

“I have spent the last 28 years taking my life in my hands every time I try to cross there, since Brandon drivers were completely convinced that it was an optional decision whether or not to stop at the crosswalk. It’s improved hugely since they put the lights in. It’s so much safer.”

— BU history professor Lynn MacKay

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Friday, Feb. 20, 2026

The crosswalk on 18th Street at Lorne Avenue in front of Brandon University. The city recently installed flashing lights as part of the crosswalk. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Wayward Tory MPs need to make up their minds

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Wayward Tory MPs need to make up their minds

4 minute read Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

Lisa Raitt has some good advice for Conservative Party MPs who are considering crossing the floor of the House of Commons to join Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government.

She says they should “Get it over with. Don’t draw this out.”

During an interview with CTV News yesterday, the former Conservative Party deputy leader revealed that rumours are rampant in her former party that other MPs are pondering a switch to the Liberal side. She argued that, if those rumours are true, those Tory MPs should go ahead and do it.

“If you are thinking about it,” she said, “don’t try it out anymore. Just get it done, pull the Band-Aid off … Just put us all out of our misery of all wondering and just move on.”

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Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

Lisa Raitt, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party talks to reporters during a break of the Conservative caucus on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, January 25, 2019. The Conservatives are asking the federal judicial affairs commissioner to investigate the leak of confidential information about former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould's controversial choice for chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand

Province shifts tax load to rural school divisions

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Province shifts tax load to rural school divisions

4 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026

“At this point, the board has not decided yet what they’re doing, but they will need to consider both a reduction in staffing allocations and an increase in local taxation.”

— Beautiful Plains School Division secretary-treasurer Shannon Bayes

Last November, Brandon School Division officials were sounding the alarm over the potential for significant increases to the school portion of their 2026 property taxes. It’s now quite clear that BSD is hardly the only school division facing difficult financial decisions ahead.

Teacher salary harmonization — a new provincial policy that ensures that teachers are paid the same wages across the province — is slated to have a significant and permanent impact on the Brandon School Division’s payroll.

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Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026

Brandon School Division board of trustees chair Linda Ross

Show of unity a sign of hope amid the darkness

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Show of unity a sign of hope amid the darkness

4 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026

It has been eight days since the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., and Canadians of all stripes are still trying to make sense of what is a senseless tragedy.

Eight people were killed — five children between the ages of 11 and 13, an educational assistant and two relatives of the shooter. Two other children were seriously wounded, among 27 injured. The shooter then killed themself with one of their own weapons.

The students: Abel Mwansa Jr., 12; Zoey Benoit, 12; Ezekiel Schofield, 13; Ticaria Lampert, 12; Kylie Smith, 12. Educational assistant Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 39. Family members Emmett Jacobs, 11, and Jennifer Jacobs, 39.

There has been time to watch, to listen, to read and to think — to get more clarity about the horrible crime than the sheer shock that was the first reaction as details of the crime unfolded.

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Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks while attending a vigil for the victims of a mass shooting, in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Trump moves to disrupt, corrupt fair U.S. elections

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Trump moves to disrupt, corrupt fair U.S. elections

4 minute read Monday, Feb. 16, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump has waged an unrelenting war on democratic institutions since beginning his second term in January 2025. So much so that many observers have warned that he is trying to install an authoritarian government in the place of the current democracy.

If that is his ultimate goal, then the next and perhaps final stage in that transition would be a seismic disruption of elections.

Trump has mused in recent weeks about cancelling midterm elections scheduled for this November and “nationalizing” the oversight of elections — effectively giving the federal government authority for how elections are conducted — that are traditionally the purview of state and local governments. These proposals are predicated on Trump’s continued but disproven allegations that voter fraud cost him the election in 2020.

At the same time, his administration has used FBI and Department of Justice resources to seize ballots from a Democratic stronghold jurisdiction in Georgia in a bid to revive long-since-disproven allegations of voter fraud, and sought broad access to voter-registration data.

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Monday, Feb. 16, 2026

President Donald Trump listens during an event on addiction recovery in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Canada must fight U.S. climate decisions

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Canada must fight U.S. climate decisions

4 minute read Friday, Feb. 13, 2026

In an opinion piece published in today’s paper, Sun columnist Deveryn Ross discusses a recently released scientific report that blames climate change for a decreasing supply of water in the Assiniboine-Red River basin. If the report is correct, communities in southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan are at risk of drinking water shortages, as well as significant economic harm.

There is substantial cause for concern here in Westman, and that anxiety is further elevated by the Trump administration’s decision to strip the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in that country.

On Thursday afternoon, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the EPA has rescinded a 2009 “endangerment finding” that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases — caused by burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas — endanger public health and welfare.

The decision effectively repeals rules that have reduced greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Regulations that limit greenhouse gases emitted from power plants and oil and gas operations will reportedly also be revoked soon.

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Friday, Feb. 13, 2026

A coal burning plant in Conesville, Ohio. Canadian leaders need to do whatever it takes to fight back against U.S. President Donald Trump's move to strip away environmental protections in his country. (The Washington Post)

Conservative MP sets good example that his colleagues should follow

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Conservative MP sets good example that his colleagues should follow

4 minute read Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026

Mike Dawson wants to do the right and responsible thing, but he has been publicly bullied and chastised in front of his co-workers for trying to do so.

The Conservative MP for the New Brunswick riding of Miramichi-Grand Lake publicly disclosed earlier this week that he intends to refuse a pay raise of roughly $10,000. He says that he cannot, in good conscience, accept such a large pay hike when so many Canadians are struggling to make ends meet.

Like Dawson, all MPs are scheduled to receive the raise in April. They currently earn a base salary of $209,800, while the prime minister, opposition leader, the speaker of the House of Commons and his deputies, cabinet ministers, committee chairs and other office holders are paid even more — and that’s on top of the gold-plated benefits all MPs receive.

Canadian taxpayers, many of whom are having a hard time making their mortgage payments and affording their groceries, are the people who pay MPs those salaries. Dawson understands that, and that’s why he thinks an even higher salary is uncalled for.

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Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026

A Canadian flag flies atop the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Monday, March 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Remembering history could help Poilievre

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Remembering history could help Poilievre

4 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026

With his party’s long-anticipated leadership review squarely in the rear-view mirror and armed with the appearance of a resounding endorsement from its membership, Pierre Poilievre can set his focus on setting the future direction of the Conservative Party of Canada.

In determining the party’s path forward, however, he would do well to spend a bit of time considering its past.

Despite having received the support of 87 per cent of delegates at the CPC convention in Calgary — a lofty figure that surpasses the 84 per cent approval received by Stephen Harper in a 2005 leadership review following a loss in his first federal election as leader — Poilievre’s popularity among the broader spectrum of the population remains a challenge.

According to recent polls, nearly 60 per cent of Canadians view Poilievre unfavourably, while approval numbers for Prime Minister Mark Carney — the man the CPC leader will inevitably face in the next federal election — also remain at around 60 per cent.

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Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026

March 3, 2026

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