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The Brandon courthouse on Princess Avenue. (File/The Brandon Sun)

Sex assault victim says she had to speak out

Tessa Adamski 6 minute read Updated: 9:08 AM EST

A woman who was sexually assaulted on campus at Brandon University said she has become a powerful voice for victims who are afraid to speak out as she directly addressed her rapist before he was sentenced to three years in prison.

“Staying silent meant people like you would continue to get away with preying on victims, thinking there were no consequences, and I couldn’t let that happen — not just for myself, but for all people whose voices could not, have not, or will not be heard,” the 28-year-old woman said in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Monday afternoon.

The Indigenous woman from Thompson sobbed as she recalled feeling scared and shattered in the hours following the sexual assault in the men’s dormitory on Sept. 24, 2017, including the mental health challenges she continues to face.

“I don’t forgive you. I will, however, thank you for showing me that I’m stronger than I ever thought I could be, and that I don’t have to feel guilty for tolerating anything I’m not OK with,” she said as her hands shook.

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Supporters react during an election night event for Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Blue wave crashes over American politics in midterm that rebukes Trump policies

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Blue wave crashes over American politics in midterm that rebukes Trump policies

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 12:51 PM EST

DETROIT - The world woke up on Wednesday morning to control of the U.S. Congress shifting to Democrats in a clear rejection of President Donald Trump's turbulent second term.

In a rebuke of the second Trump administration, Democrats flipped long-held Republican Senate seats in Texas, Maine and South Carolina. A blue wave also washed over House seats and down-ballot votes in an unprecedented Democratic tsunami set to send shock waves through the Republican party.

Polling showed that Americans were frustrated with the president and his policies. Trump's approval was plummeting due to rising gas and diesel prices, high inflation and the unpopular war with Iran.

The trade war with Canada became a ballot box issue in close contests in Maine and Michigan.

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Updated: 12:51 PM EST

Local

Second-year mechatronics engineering technology student Zane Hudson demonstrates with a Modular Production System, or MPS, at Assiniboine College on Tuesday.

College unveils home of mechatronics program

Alex Lambert 3 minute read Preview

College unveils home of mechatronics program

Alex Lambert 3 minute read Yesterday at 10:39 PM EST

Assiniboine College’s new mechatronics program will help fill a gap in local industry, the program’s chair says.

The college unveiled the new home of the three-year program — part of a roughly $5.2-million facility that helps support automation in the manufacturing sector — at its North Hill campus during a press conference in Brandon on Tuesday.

Academic chair of food science and agricultural technologies Jeremy Timmer said he worked in dairy manufacturing for about 15 years, and he could see a gap in industrial automation and any form of controls.

Locally, he said, a lot of that work is given out to third-party companies.

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Yesterday at 10:39 PM EST

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Brandon School Division Supt. Jon Zilkey at his office at the BSD offices on Sixth Street in Brandon. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Students urged to be ‘extra safe’ in the dark

Abiola Odutola 2 minute read Preview

Students urged to be ‘extra safe’ in the dark

Abiola Odutola 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 10:38 PM EST

The Brandon School Division is asking students to take extra safety precautions during darker morning commutes due to permanent daylight time.

The division has not received reports of widespread concerns or unusual attendance issues since the province opted not to move clocks back on Nov. 1, but student and staff safety remains a priority, Supt. Jon Zilkey said Tuesday.

“I would say just take the extra precautions that you normally do when you’re walking in the dark” by staying in lighted areas as much as possible, he said.

“Just be extra safe. Make sure cars can see you often in the dark. It’s much more challenging. So just take that extra time to be cautious.”

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Updated: Yesterday at 10:38 PM EST

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Brandon-Westman Christmas Cheer volunteer and board member Joyce Shewan sorts knitted items for Christmas stockings on Tuesday afternoon that are given to kids 16 years old and under during the holiday season. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

Christmas Cheer sets target, seeks new location for next year

Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Preview

Christmas Cheer sets target, seeks new location for next year

Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Yesterday at 10:33 PM EST

Brandon-Westman Christmas Cheer is hoping to raise $75,500 in donations this year — enough to fill 1,200 Christmas hampers for families in need.

The board also launched a public appeal for new warehouse space on Monday, following what was described as its likely “final meeting” at its Rosser Avenue headquarters.

The fundraising target is lower than last year’s $90,000 goal, largely because the organization received a significant provincial contribution that strengthened its financial position, spokesperson Synthia Wright said.

“We were very lucky that we got a really great donation from the NDP government when they sold the U.S. liquor at last Christmas,” Wright told the Sun.

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Yesterday at 10:33 PM EST

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The Brandon Police Service crest. (File)

Woman faces charges of assaulting police officer

1 minute read Preview

Woman faces charges of assaulting police officer

1 minute read Yesterday at 10:31 PM EST

A woman is facing charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer after she allegedly became “unco-operative” and “combative” during an incident in Brandon on Monday.

Police were called to a hotel in the 1100 block of 18th Street around 2:15 p.m. for a report of a woman causing a disturbance outside the main entrance, police said in a news release on Tuesday.

The woman was also involved in causing a disturbance outside the hotel on the previous day, police said.

When officers located the woman and tried to take her into custody, she resisted arrest, the release said.

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Yesterday at 10:31 PM EST

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Finance and National Revenue Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne listens to a question during an armchair discussion at the Canadian Club of Ottawa, in Ottawa, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Here’s what fiscal hawks are watching for in Budget 2026

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Here’s what fiscal hawks are watching for in Budget 2026

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: 11:29 AM EST

OTTAWA - The Liberal government is getting ready to reveal how a prolonged global energy shock and a series of spending commitments over the summer have affected the state of federal finances.

Budget 2026 — the second federal budget tabled under Prime Minister Mark Carney — is coming on Thursday.

Titled "Maître Chez Nous" — Masters of our Destiny — the budget is expected to continue pivoting the federal government away from day-to-day government program spending and toward an aggressive infrastructure agenda.

Analysts will be looking for signs the federal government is keeping federal debt on a sustainable track as it tries to stoke investment and find new markets for trade.

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Updated: 11:29 AM EST

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A Royal Bank of Canada sign and a Canadian flag are pictured in Ottawa on Thursday, June 27, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Ex-bank worker found guilty after viewing Carney’s data, opening fraudulent accounts

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Ex-bank worker found guilty after viewing Carney’s data, opening fraudulent accounts

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 9:03 AM EST

OTTAWA - A former Royal Bank of Canada employee has been found guilty of three criminal charges after opening fraudulent accounts and viewing the personal banking information of Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Ibrahim El-Hakim, who worked at a downtown Ottawa bank branch, was recruited by someone he believed "to be associated with organized crime," says an agreed statement of facts in the case filed in an Ontario court.

The RCMP began an investigation last year following a complaint from RBC.

The agreed statement says El-Hakim opened at least 43 fraudulent accounts at the bank between November 2023 and June 2025.

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Updated: 9:03 AM EST

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Brandon residents check out the open house storyboards on display at the Sportsplex multipurpose room regarding the planned roundabout at 18th Street North and Braecrest Drive on Tuesday afternoon. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

Hilltop location made roundabout best option: city

Alex Lambert 4 minute read Preview

Hilltop location made roundabout best option: city

Alex Lambert 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 10:41 PM EST

Several dozen residents got a first-hand look Tuesday at what the new roundabout planned for the intersection of 18th Street North and Braecrest Drive in Brandon will look like.

An open house at Brandon’s Community Sportsplex, featuring 10 mounted placards with information about the project, described how a roundabout is the best option for the busy intersection.

Kyle Winters, the city’s engineering director, said a roundabout was determined to “provide the most safety to people travelling through the intersection.”

While traffic lights were considered as an option, they were ruled out because of the location on top of a hill.

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Updated: Yesterday at 10:41 PM EST

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Man accused of pointing sawed-off shotgun at victim’s face

1 minute read Preview

Man accused of pointing sawed-off shotgun at victim’s face

1 minute read Yesterday at 10:30 PM EST

A 38-year-old man is facing multiple charges after Mounties say he threatened a man with a sawed-off shotgun outside a home in Ebb and Flow First Nation more than a week ago.

Ste. Rose du Lac RCMP responded to the incident around 8 p.m. on Oct. 25 and determined a 48-year-old man had gone to the residence to visit a friend, police said in a news release on Tuesday.

The victim said he was approached by the man, who accused him of being there to visit his girlfriend.

The man struck the victim in the chest and pulled a sawed-off shotgun from his backpack, RCMP said.

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Yesterday at 10:30 PM EST

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Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives to an executive session of the 28th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, on Tuesday Nov. 3, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

More intense U.S. trade negotiations have started, Carney says

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

More intense U.S. trade negotiations have started, Carney says

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: 9:02 AM EST

ST JOHN'S - Prime Minister Mark Carney says "more intense" trade negotiations with the United States have started since his call with President Donald Trump last weekend.

"We've made progress but we haven't finished," Carney told reporters Tuesday in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda.

Carney said some of Canada's "red lines" have been taken off the table, including language, culture and Canada's ability to negotiate trade deals with other markets.

"They're asking less and they're offering more but we're not quite there," he said.

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Updated: 9:02 AM EST