Opinion

Editorial cartoon for March 4, 2026

Striking the right budget balance

Editorial 3 minute read Preview

Striking the right budget balance

Editorial 3 minute read 2:00 AM CST

Manitobans understand that governing is about choices. They also understand that some of the biggest choices a government makes are the hardest ones, especially when it comes to money.

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2:00 AM CST

Ruth Bonneville/Winnipeg Free Press

Manitoba Finance Minister Adrien Sala

Ruth Bonneville/Winnipeg Free Press
                                Manitoba Finance Minister Adrien Sala

Survey results crystal-clear: transit system overhaul a disaster

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Preview

Survey results crystal-clear: transit system overhaul a disaster

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Yesterday at 12:40 PM CST

When more than eight in 10 of your core customers say you’ve made things worse, that’s not a minor hiccup. That’s a collapse in confidence.

And it’s exactly where Winnipeg Transit finds itself after its sweeping network overhaul launched last year.

The redesign was billed as a bold modernization — a smarter, more efficient system built around frequent primary routes and timed connections.

Instead, it has produced a level of dissatisfaction among downtown riders that is as striking as it is alarming.

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Yesterday at 12:40 PM CST

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Buses run downtown on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ commissioned a survey, which found that the vast majority of downtown bus riders are unhappy with the new system. For Gabby story. Free Press 2026

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Buses run downtown on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ commissioned a survey, which found that the vast majority of downtown bus riders are unhappy with the new system. For Gabby story. Free Press 2026

A wily Netanyahu and a simple Trump

Gwynne Dyer 5 minute read Preview

A wily Netanyahu and a simple Trump

Gwynne Dyer 5 minute read 2:00 AM CST

U.S. President Donald Trump is not just Benjamin Netanyahu’s glove puppet, but it is remarkable how much influence the Israeli prime minister has over the American president. If you are seeking a reason why Trump felt the need to attack Iran again only nine months after he declared that he had eliminated any nuclear threat from that country, you need look no further.

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2:00 AM CST

Mark Schiefelbein / The Associated Press

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace on Feb. 19.

Mark Schiefelbein / The Associated Press
                                U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace on Feb. 19.

Precedent-setting Treaty 1 case wraps up

Sheilla Jones and Bill Shead 4 minute read 2:00 AM CST

A precedent-setting trial that wrapped up in Winnipeg’s Court of King’s Bench at the end of February has called for a court to determine, for the first time in 150 years, whether the value of Treaty 1 annuities is subject to an increase after being frozen at $5 per person since 1875.

Letters, March 4

6 minute read Preview

Letters, March 4

6 minute read Updated: 8:04 AM CST

In my lifetime, I have witnessed the spread of an inept universal political rationale for attacking Muslim-majority countries, both by mainstream media promoting anti-Muslim propaganda, sometimes subtle and sometimes outright Islamophobia.

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Updated: 8:04 AM CST

A plume of smoke rises following a U.S.-Israeli military strike in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A plume of smoke rises following a U.S.-Israeli military strike in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Reflecting on February’s ‘I Love to Read’ Month

Xiaoxiao Du, Melanie Janzen and Paige Boyd 4 minute read 2:00 AM CST

In schools, February is widely known as “I Love to Read Month,” a dedicated celebration aimed at cultivating a love of reading.

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Low-income senior renters can’t age in place in Winnipeg

Laura Funk and Andrea McDougall 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CST

Despite assumptions that all seniors are wealthy homeowners, slightly over one-fifth are renters increasingly squeezed between inflation and limited pensions. In gentrifying Canadian cities, aging renters are particularly vulnerable to eviction.

Hockey games and missed opportunities

Jonathan Van Elslander 5 minute read Preview

Hockey games and missed opportunities

Jonathan Van Elslander 5 minute read Monday, Mar. 2, 2026

When I was 16, I quit hockey. I was a closeted teenager, and I was sick to death of the bullying, the violence, and the culture. Hockey made me ashamed. For a decade, I found it easier to come out of the closet than to tell people I had once loved hockey.

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Monday, Mar. 2, 2026

AP Photo/Petr David Josek

United States’ Connor Hellebuyck (37) celebrates after the United States defeated Canada in a men’s ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy.

AP Photo/Petr David Josek
                                United States’ Connor Hellebuyck (37) celebrates after the United States defeated Canada in a men’s ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy.

Poilievre’s remarks too little, too late

Deveryn Ross 4 minute read Preview

Poilievre’s remarks too little, too late

Deveryn Ross 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CST

Where was Pierre Poilievre a year ago? Why did he wait so long to finally say what he should have said back then?

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Yesterday at 2:00 AM CST

Chris Young / The Canadian Press

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto on Feb. 26.

Chris Young / The Canadian Press
                                Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto on Feb. 26.

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