Westman

Thousands of people have fled from a First Nation in northern Manitoba Monday as wildfires burned closer and closer to the community. 

The Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, also called Nelson House, issued a full evacuation order Sunday in response to the blazes, as flames threatened to cut off road access and muddied air quality.

It was upgraded one day later to a mandatory evacuation. The community's roughly 4,000 residents were to register with the Cree Nation before busing to the Thompson Airport, about 75 kilometres away, to fly to Winnipeg.

Labour experts say another postal service strike is unlikely after unionized Canada Post workers rejected their employer's latest round of offers in a forced vote and the parties mull their next steps.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said Friday that the roughly 55,000 members represented by the union shot down the Canada Post's latest proposal, which would've seen wage hikes of about 13 per cent over four years and restructuring to add part-time workers to the deal.

Some premiers say they want to have more local control over the immigration system — but experts say what the system really needs is a national conversation on immigration reform that shores up public support.

"Most of the existing policies have been formulated on the fly without any evidence or serious impact evaluations of what the various classes of immigrants are, how they're performing economically and otherwise," said Michael Trebilcock, a retired academic and co-author of two books on immigration policy.

"So it's basically research-free."

Dominic LeBlanc said Sunday that he expects Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump will speak "over the next number of days" as the United States ratchets up pressure in trade talks.

The Canada-U.S. trade minister appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation" and spoke about where talks stand between the two countries.

LeBlanc told host Margaret Brennan that while Canada is "disappointed" with Trump's new 35-per-cent tariffs, he is continuing to work toward a deal that would hopefully strike down trade restrictions between the nations.

The sport of pickleball has become a sensation for all ages, and the President of Pickleball Manitoba, Ted Fardoe, couldn't be happier with where they are, or more excited for where the sport is going. 

Whether a biologist, bird-lover, or someone who just wants to get outside, a national contest is inviting Canadians to connect with nature—right from their own backyards.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC) Big Backyard BioBlitz has returned for its fifth year and is asking southern Manitobans to photograph different plants and animals and share their findings online.

Participants can do so via the iNaturalist app, which not only works for uploading pictures and audio recordings of birds and plants, but for "downloading" new information to curious minds.

Residents across Manitoba are noticing more wasps and nests as summer progresses.

Dr. John Gavloski, an extension entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, explains why wasp activity increases late in the season and shares advice on safe ways to handle them.

Ottawa's new trade minister says he's looking to sign deals in South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and beyond — and to convince businesses to actually use the trade agreements Canada has already signed.

"My primary role as Canada's top salesman is to be out there hustling, opening doors for businesses and accessing new markets," Maninder Sidhu told The Canadian Press.

"My phone has been ringing with opportunities because people want to deal with reliable, stable trading partners."

It's not often that I would call a vehicle 'magical' but at the WCN car show in Brandon yesterday, this one caught my attention!

Dave Proven lives just north of Minnedosa in the community of Basswood, and when he was looking for a project to do, specifically build a camper out of a vintage vehicle, a neighbor just down the road had just what Dave was looking for.

The Western Canadian National Car Show has taken Brandon by storm as classic cars, sweet rides and rat rods are on full display at the Keystone Centre.

Hundreds of cars lined the Keystone Centre grounds, and there were lots of smiles for Day 1 of the WCN Show 'n Shine!

Here are just a few of these beautifully restored vintage vehicles.  They say, 'a picture is worth a thousand words', but these pictures don't do them justice!