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Incumbent mayoral candidate Jeff Fawcett steps down from the front porch of a home in Ward 3 while door-knocking in the area on Tuesday before today's municipal election. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

Mayoral race reaches zero hour

Alex Lambert 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 10:01 PM CDT

Brandon’s two mayoral candidates continued to make their final pushes on Tuesday as voters head to the polls today to elect the next mayor and council.

Incumbent Mayor Jeff Fawcett said he and his team have been to nearly every doorstep across the city, while challenger Len Isleifson said he has covered most parts of Brandon and was on a second round in some areas.

“I’m working my tail off to try to make sure that people do get out to vote, and the people I speak to, I feel fairly optimistic,” said Fawcett, who is running for his second term. “But people have to vote.”

The Sun joined both Fawcett and Isleifson as they went door-knocking on the eve of the election.

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Local

Stabbing outside downtown bar nets two-year sentence

Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Preview

Stabbing outside downtown bar nets two-year sentence

Tessa Adamski 5 minute read Yesterday at 9:55 PM CDT

A Manitoba judge sentenced a Waywayseecappo First Nation man to two years behind bars for stabbing a woman in downtown Brandon, acknowledging he was likely repeating behaviour modelled to him at a young age.

The typical sentencing range for offenders in a similar circumstance as 21-year-old David Medicine is between two and four years in custody, and provincial court Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta opted for the low end after factoring in Medicine’s history of being stabbed and witnessing at least one fatal stabbing in his lifetime.

“It’s not an excuse for behaving badly, but it does help us to understand how you might be so angry and so quick to lash out,” Hewitt-Michta said in court on Tuesday. “But it’s your responsibility to do something about that and to get the help that you need so that you can manage these issues.”

Medicine pleaded guilty this summer to aggravated assault in the Feb. 13 incident when he got into a fight while intoxicated outside the City Centre Hotel bar and stabbed a stranger in the chest, Crown attorney Yaso Mathu said.

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Yesterday at 9:55 PM CDT

Local

BDO Canada LLP manager Jarett Kowaluk presents an audit of the Brandon School Division's financial statements to the school board on Monday evening. (Abiola Odutola/The Brandon Sun)

Brandon School Division ended last fiscal year with $400K surplus

Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Preview

Brandon School Division ended last fiscal year with $400K surplus

Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Yesterday at 9:54 PM CDT

The Brandon School Division ended the 2025-26 fiscal year with an operating surplus of about $400,000, BDO Canada LLP reported during the board of trustees’ last general meeting on Monday.

The division’s expenses increased by about $6 million from the previous year, but were $2 million below budget, BDO manager Jarett Kowaluk told the board.

“In today’s economic environment, that’s quite impressive,” Kowaluk said.

The result, he said, produced a surplus of about $2.4 million before $2 million was transferred to fund items such as capital asset purchases and debt repayment.

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Yesterday at 9:54 PM CDT

Local

Peter Sawatzky’s sculpture The Seal River Crossing is one of the many attractions at the Riverbank Discovery Centre. A new tourism strategy for the City of Brandon will promote the Riverbank as a major destination point for visitors. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Riverbank to be ‘central hub’ in tourism plan

Rylee Gerrard 3 minute read Preview

Riverbank to be ‘central hub’ in tourism plan

Rylee Gerrard 3 minute read Yesterday at 9:58 PM CDT

Brandonites were given a sneak peek into the future of tourism in the city during last week’s council meeting.

In a slideshow presented to council on Oct. 19, staff from UpHouse — a Winnipeg-based marketing agency — gave a first look into a new tourism strategy that will make the Riverbank Discovery Centre a central hub for visitors.

According to UpHouse senior strategist Carley English, more than one million people visit the Keystone Centre for events annually.

“What we’re going to do is we’re going to take those event visitors, those one million plus people who are coming here anyways … and we’re going to turn them into city visitors,” English said.

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Yesterday at 9:58 PM CDT

Local

Brandon City Hall. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Advance voting sets new Brandon record

2 minute read Preview

Advance voting sets new Brandon record

2 minute read Yesterday at 9:59 PM CDT

Advance voting in Brandon reached an all-time high this month, shattering past municipal election records.

A total of 2,386 ballots were cast in advance polls for mayor, ward councillor and school board trustees on Oct. 14, 17 and 22, senior election official Heather Ewasiuk confirmed Tuesday.

The total, which also included a senior housing mobile advance poll, is 920 more than the previous record of 1,466 ballots cast in 2014.

It also represents a sharp increase from the 376 advance votes recorded in 2022.

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Yesterday at 9:59 PM CDT

Local

Privacy Commissioner of Canada Philippe Dufresne holds a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday, June 11, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Privacy commissioner opens investigation into Crime Stoppers data breach

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Privacy commissioner opens investigation into Crime Stoppers data breach

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: 8:45 AM CDT

Canada's privacy watchdog has launched an investigation into a reportedly massive Crime Stoppers data breach as police departments across the country have paused accepting tips through the platform.

The office of privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne says the probe will look into the cybersecurity incident involving Navigate360, the third-party company that manages the platform used by Crime Stoppers.

The investigation comes after CBC reported that 1.5 million tips submitted to Canadian Crime Stoppers programs over the last 25 years were exposed when Navigate360 was hacked in March.

The U.S.-based company confirmed the breach last week, saying it immediately opened its own investigation, took "mitigation measures" and "implemented additional and enhanced safeguards" with the support of another cybersecurity firm after the discovery.

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Updated: 8:45 AM CDT

Business

Bank of Canada building is pictured in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Bank of Canada’s 1st rate hike in three years won’t be the last, economists argue

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Bank of Canada’s 1st rate hike in three years won’t be the last, economists argue

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: 1:56 PM CDT

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in more than three years on Wednesday as it tries to get ahead of looming price hikes.

The central bank’s policy rate now stands at 2.5 per cent following a quarter-point hike.

That key rate, which influences the cost of borrowing for banks, businesses and consumers alike, had held steady for nearly a year following a series of cuts.

The Bank of Canada operates independently of government and raises its policy rate when it's worried inflation will stray too far from its mandated two per cent target.

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Updated: 1:56 PM CDT

Local

The water tower in Rideau Park overlooks the park and Brandon's east end. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Council votes to set aside $250K for Rideau Park

Alex Lambert 2 minute read Preview

Council votes to set aside $250K for Rideau Park

Alex Lambert 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:51 PM CDT

An outgoing Brandon councillor has asked the city to set aside $250,000 in next year’s budget to enhance Rideau Park.

Coun. Glen Parker at his final meeting last week used artificial intelligence to generate images depicting the type of attraction he would like to see at the east-end park, with a lighted water tower and a photo area.

The motion was approved 9-2.

“This is a really popular area — Rideau Park (is) annually voted best park in the city, and in the winter, it’s become a really, really popular toboggan hill,” the Ward 9 councillor said.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:51 PM CDT

Business

U.S. President Donald Trump and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney speak at the G7 working luncheon, during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

There has been ‘limited progress’ in Canada-U.S. trade talks: Canadian official

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

There has been ‘limited progress’ in Canada-U.S. trade talks: Canadian official

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 1 minute read Updated: 8:44 AM CDT

OTTAWA - A Canadian official says there has been "limited progress" made in recent trade talks with the United States.

Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday acknowledged talks had intensified slightly in recent days and President Donald Trump and his officials have suggested a deal could be possible before next week midterm elections in the United States.

But a Canadian government official with knowledge of the negotiations, who was not authorized to speak publicly about them, says today while discussions have continued, "there has been limited progress."

Diplomatic relations between Canada and the U.S. have been dicey since Carney's government walked away from formal trade talks in August and the prime minister accused the Americans of making unreasonable last-minute demands.

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Updated: 8:44 AM CDT

Local

The scene of a collision between two trains in Urda, Spain on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (Juanma Jimenez/Europa Press via AP)

At least 30 dead and 80 injured in high-speed train crash in central Spain

Iain Sullivan And Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

At least 30 dead and 80 injured in high-speed train crash in central Spain

Iain Sullivan And Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 8:43 AM CDT

URDA, Spain (AP) — A high-speed train slammed into the rear of another train that had stopped, derailing two cars and killing at least 30 people on Wednesday in central Spain, authorities said.

The regional president of Castilla La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, said at least 30 people died in the crash. He added that at least 80 people were injured and that the death toll “will surely rise” as rescue workers continue to search in the wreckage for survivors and bodies.

It was the second major train accident in Spain this year.

Spain’s rail system operator ADIF said the crash occurred Wednesday morning in the province of Toledo. The accident was between two high-speed trains carrying hundreds of passengers and heading in the same direction from the capital Madrid to Seville in southwestern Spain, according to Esther Padilla, spokesperson for the Castilla La Mancha region.

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Updated: 8:43 AM CDT

Lifestyles

Lisa Marr, a retired paramedic who lives with PTSD, poses in Cow Bay, N.S. on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, where she goes to watch the waves and think of her parents in times of stress. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

‘A stab in the back’: How it feels to be barred from accessing MAID for mental illness

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

‘A stab in the back’: How it feels to be barred from accessing MAID for mental illness

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 8:43 AM CDT

TORONTO - For Lisa Marr, the government's decision to ban people from accessing medical assistance in dying for mental illness feels like "a stab in the back."

“They're not thinking about those people who have lived with it their entire life and have treatment-resistant conditions,” Marr said from her bedroom in Eastern Passage, N.S.

“Like myself,” she added.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser introduced a bill Tuesday that, if passed, will stop a scheduled expansion of MAID access to those suffering solely from a mental illness.

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Updated: 8:43 AM CDT