Around 100 people showed up to take in the Brandon-Souris candidates debate last night at Brandon University. Conservative Grant Jackson and New Democrat Quentin Robinson touched on a number of topics including affordability, taxes, policing and the CBC. Liberal Ghazanfar Ali Tarar did not take part – he was in Winnipeg attending to a family matter. Election Day is April 28th.
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229-thousand-379 Manitobans took advantage of the early voting this past weekend – a 22% increase in turnout compared to the 2021 federal election, but it remains to be seen if there’ll be an increase in overall turnout on Monday. In Manitoba, there’s been declining voter turnout the past three federal elections.
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The federal leaders are making campaign stops across the country today. Liberal Leader Mark Carney will be in Port Moody, B.C. this morning before holding a rally in Winnipeg this evening. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh will make an announcement in Winnipeg this morning then travel to Toronto – and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will hold a press conference in Halifax this morning and later hold a rally in Saskatoon.
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Three Westman municipalities have declared states of emergency due to spring flooding. Grandview, Gilbert Plains and Russell-Binscarth are responding to overland flooding – and two highways: Provincial roads 579 and 584 have been closed. A flood watch remains in place for the Assiniboine River from Shellmouth to Brandon.
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Manitoba public health has issued a notice warning about two confirmed cases of measles. Both cases are linked to travel to Mexico. The exposures took place April 14th and 15th in the Garden Valley School Division in the Winkler area.
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Brandon’s United Way is gearing up for it’s annual giant garage sale on Saturday. 140 crafters, collectors, bakers and retailers will be set up in the Manitoba Room of the Keystone Centre; organizers say it’s another sell-out. Proceeds go to fund 23 agencies in Brandon region.
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Tesla vehicle owners were the biggest beneficiaries of electric-vehicle rebates offered by the Manitoba government. 337 Teslas received rebates totalling just under $1.3-million. Ford was second. The government ended rebates for Teslas, and vehicles made in China in the March budget, to protest against tariffs imposed by the U-S and China.
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The president of the Manitoba Metis Federation, David Chartrand, is heading to Italy to attend the funeral of Pope Francis. The pontiff, who died on Easter Monday at the age of 88, will be laid to rest in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday. Chartrand met the Pope in 2022, when Francis made his apology to survivors of Canada’s residential school system.
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WestJet is expanding domestic flights across the country this summer, including new flights between Winnipeg and the east coast. It’s adding flights twice a week to St. John’s, Newfoundland beginning July 1st – and bumping
flights between Winnipeg and Halifax to 10 times a week.
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A restaurant in Halifax has ended the custom of tipping. When the owners of The Bonfire worked as servers they always hated losing tips while not getting paid consistently, so they’ve decided to pay their staff more and get rid of tips entirely. They’ve bumped wages to $20-dollars-an-hour for their 5 staffers, and brought in a profit-sharing plan. They say community support has been overwhelmingly positive.
