Michael Blume

Southern Manitoba faces a mix of lingering snow and delayed warmth as April begins, with Environment Canada meteorologist Justin Shelley outlining a week of cooler temperatures and scattered flurries before potential double-digit highs arrive.

Unsettled pattern brings light snow

Shelley notes a "relatively unsettled pattern" dominates the forecast. "There aren’t any big systems of note," he says, "but a weak system on Tuesday could produce a couple of centimetres of snow." 

Flurries may persist through Friday, though accumulations remain minimal.

A unique and incredibly daunting situation has Canada in an impending tariff war while its government is prorogued, unable to properly strategize while the world's largest power is looming over its head and dangling astronomical tariffs on all our exports to them.

That's the situation as described by Portage-Lisgar MP Branden Leslie. He says the current Liberal government is more concerned over its next leader when, instead, an election should be called immediately to get that issue settled so the entire nation can deal with this unprecedented dilemma.

"I intend to resign. As party leader, as Prime Minister after the party elects its next leader through a robust nation-wide competitive process. Last night, I asked the president of the Liberal party to begin that process, and it has become clear to me that if I'm having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election."

That's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who gave his resignation speech today in Ottawa.

For 2025, Portage-Lisgar Conservative MP, Branden Leslie, says it's anybody's guess as to what will transpire. He outlines events before Christmas, including NDP leader Jagmeet Singh's statement that he would vote down the Liberal government at the first available opportunity.

Branden Leslie says his first year as Member of Parliament for Portage-Lisgar has been an honour he deeply cherishes. 2024 marked Leslie's first full year in the role.

Leslie, a Conservative, explains he is reminded of this honour each time he enters the House of Commons, adding, overall, it's been a great year.

In light of the news Monday that Canada's Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland suddenly announced her departure from the Liberal Cabinet, Portage-Lisgar MP Branden Leslie is weighing in.

He spoke with PembinaValleyOnline shortly before the Fall Fiscal update was released Monday afternoon. 

Leslie notes this situation exemplifies what he terms the absolute chaos and mayhem under the Trudeau government, "That's trying to save their political hides, unfortunately, on the backs of Canadians."

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) has weighed in on the recent news that President-Elect Donald Trump plans to impose tariffs on all exports to the US from Canada and Mexico, potentially as high as 25 percent.

Concerns from KAP

Colin Hornby, Manager of Communications and Stakeholder Relations at KAP, explains there are definite concerns about the potential impacts if this actually takes place.

Now that American President-Elect Donald Trump has announced plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on anything coming into the US from both Mexico and Canada, Provincial Agriculture Critic Jeff Bereza shares his thoughts. Bereza notes that the premier recently stated the situation could likely lead to a recession.

This past Wednesday, October 30, saw a surge in fraud-related reports to the RCMP. We wrote of one instance last week, and more reports are coming in.

Portage and MacGregor Incidents

On that day. RCMP in Portage la Prairie received reports of two seniors being defrauded after they got phone calls from a man claiming to be a lawyer for their grandchild. The caller gave the victims their grandchild's name, told them the grandchild was in jail, and said they needed money for bail.

The second annual Beef and Forage Conference took place this week in Portage la Prairie, with the first having been in Brandon. Shawn Cabak, a livestock and forage specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, is one of the organizers. He says they had a great lineup of speakers from across the Prairies, as well as some American speakers.