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Weather events from across Canada, throughout the year, made Environment Canada’s Top 10 Weather Stories list.
Manitoba even made the list with the most powerful Tornado of the year.
Environment Canada chose the top 10 from a list of 100 significant weather happenings across the country.
10. August Long-Weekend Storms
Ontario was drenched with some areas seeing over 100mm of rain and 4 tornadoes touching down. Meanwhile, southern Alberta and Saskatchewan were rocked with hail storms and strong winds resulting in 4,000 insurance claims totalling $55 million in property losses.
9. Fall Gives Canada’s West And East Polar Opposites
Heading into November, the prairies experienced some warm weather before a major snowstorm blew through. Areas in Saskatchewan were hit hardest with Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and Kindersley getting 30-47 cm of snow. Long periods of freezing rain kept snow totals low in southeastern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba but made driving conditions quite treacherous.
Out east, a cooler October and early November turned into a second summer around Remembrance Day where there was an 8 day stretch of record-breaking highs. Over those 8 days, 200 daily high-temperature records were set from Ontario to Newfoundland.
8. Spring Goes Missing
Instead of being late like it often is, spring went missing with minus temperatures sticking around into May. Negative highs and wind chills pushed -35 in Alberta in April. On May 11th, Winnipeg broke their record cold temperature beating 1996’s -6.2 degrees with a low of -10.3 degrees. Snow also continued to fall throughout May in Ontario and Quebec.
7. Most Powerful Tornado Of The Year Touches Down In Manitoba
On August 7th, an EF-3 Tornado touched down near Virden. Wind speeds reached 260 km/h and a man from Sioux Valley First Nation lived the ferocity of the twister when the winds uprooted a pine tree, throwing it onto the roof of his jeep. The tornado also tragically took the lives of two 18-year-olds from Melita. This tornado was the strongest tornado recorded in Canada this year.
6. Record Hurricane Season For Atlantic Canada
While Manitoba saw the most powerful tornado of the year, Atlantic Canada experienced 13 hurricanes. At the end of the hurricane season, the total was 30 named storms, 13 hurricanes, 6 of which became major hurricanes.
5. St. John’s Snowmageddon
On January 17th, St. John’s got hit with what meteorologists call a bomb cyclone, where conditions quickly intensified. Over 18 hours, a metre of snow was dropped in the city. 20,000 hydro customers were without power and insurer costs were over $17 million.
4. Never-Ending Summer In The East
After spring stayed cold, with snow into May in Ontario and Quebec, the weather quickly shifted to record-breaking highs. On May 27th, Montreal reached 36.6 degrees, its hottest temperature in May ever and second-highest temperature the city has ever seen. Records continued to be broken throughout June and July.
3. Fort McMurray Flood
Fort McMurray residents were forced out of their homes for the second time in four years, although this time it was because of water instead of fire. A 25 km stretch of the Athabasca River saw ice jamming, which caused water to back up on the adjacent Clearwater River, flooding downtown Fort McMurray. Water levels rose up to 6 metres, causing 13,000 people to leave their homes. The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated the cost of the flooding from nearly 3,000 claims totalled above $562 million. One man drowned when he was caught by the rising waters.
2. All Smoke, No Fire In BC
BC had a second consecutive quiet fire season in 2020, however smoke plumes from the US travelled into the province. The smoke caused some of the worst air quality in recorded history. The long-term health effects for all residents are unknown.
1. Calgary’s Billion Dollar Hailer
Damage totals around 1.3 billion dollars resulted from a hail storm on June 13th in Calgary. More than 32,000 vehicles were extensively damaged with cracked and smashed windshields with vehicle write-offs totalling $386 million. Hail the size of tennis balls and golf-balls ricocheted out of the sky propelled by wind speeds up to 70 km/h.
Full details on each weather event can be found here.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Manitoba's deficit will be nearly $900-million less than projected, but the deficit is still expected to reach a historic high by the end of the fiscal year.
Today the Premier provided a mid-year financial report alongside Finance Minister Scott Fielding.
The province is forecasting a deficit of $2.048-billion by early-spring, which would be the largest deficit Manitoba has ever recorded.
Provincial revenue is forecasted to be $372-million lower than budget, largely as a result of economic shutdowns due to the pandemic, and decreased revenue from Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation with ongoing casino closures.
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- Contributed by 730 CKDM
A Winnipegosis librarian is holding a series of writing and illustration workshops online, thanks to a grant through the Manitoba Arts Council.
Deborah Delaronde-Falk from the Winnipegosis library is holding the workshops online through Zoom, featuring a number of guests.
Alison Moss, Parkland Regional Library Director says the “Writer-In-Residence” workshops are for all ages and encourages anyone to register.
“So I think at this point if we have interested writers, budding writers, they should connect with Deborah and just see how they might fit in.”
She adds that there will also be a mentorship program available for youth and Indigenous elders.
“Then there will also be that mentorship component which will be geared towards interested youth and possibly elders if they had a specific writing project that they’ve been working on. So she’ll help coach those writers through the process.”
The workshops will run every Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. from January 6th to February 3rd.
For more information and to register, contact Deborah at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
Manitoba drivers can expect to see a drop in their auto insurance premiums next year.
The Public Utilities Board approved Manitoba Public Insurance’s request, dropping rates by an average of 8.8 percent.
The cut will begin on April 1st, and will save Manitobans more than $100 on average.
MPI has been sending out rebates to customers, with another round of cheques expected in the next few weeks.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
Another 292 cases of COVID-19 were added in the province on Wednesday, along with 15 more deaths due to COVID-19.
Two of the deaths were in Prairie Mountain Health, including a man in his 80s linked to the outbreak at the Swan Valley Health Centre. The other is a man in his 70s at the Fairview Care Home in Brandon.
The full list of the most recent deaths in Manitoba can be found at the bottom of this article.
Health officials have declared the outbreak at the Winnipegosis Personal Care Home (PCH) now over. There was just one case reported at the Winnipegosis PCH over the duration of the outbreak — a staff member.
The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 13.6% provincially and 13.7% in Winnipeg. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is now up to 21,826.
There are 5,797 active cases in Manitoba and 15,506 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. There are 328 people in hospital with 46 people in intensive care due to COVID-19.
The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 523.
Today’s COVID-19 data shows:
• 24 cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region
• 47 cases in the Northern health region
• 35 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region
• 28 cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• 158 cases in the Winnipeg health region
According to the province’s data, there are active cases in the following Parkland health districts: Dauphin (5), Riding Mountain (10), Swan River (1), Porcupine Mountain (72, up from 55), Duck Mountain (17), Asessippi (6), Little Saskatchewan (6), Whitemud (1), and Agassiz Mountain (2). Brandon has 175 active cases.
The Porcupine Health District now has 72 active cases | Photo courtesy of the Government of Manitoba
In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has 29 active cases, while Fisher/Peguis has 32, according to the province’s latest update.
Public health officials advise 15 additional deaths in people with COVID-19 have been reported today including:
• a male in his 40s from the Winnipeg health region
• a female in her 40s from the Interlake–Eastern health region, linked to outbreak at Kin Place
• a male in his 50s from the Interlake–Eastern health region
• a female in her 50s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Concordia Hospital unit N3W
• a male in his 60s from the Winnipeg health region
• a male in his 70s from the Prairie Mountain Health region, linked to the outbreak at the Fairview Home
• a female in her 70s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Charleswood Care Centre
• a female in her 70s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the St. Norbert Personal Care Home
• a male in his 70s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the St. Norbert Personal Care Home
• a male in his 80s from the Southern Health–Sante Sud health region
• a male in his 80s from the Prairie Mountain Health region, linked to the outbreak at the Swan Valley Health Centre
• a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Park Manor Care Home
• a male in his 90s from the Winnipeg health region
• a male in his 90s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Park Manor Care Home
• a female in her 100s from the Winnipeg health region, linked to the outbreak at the Park Manor Care Home
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
The first Manitoban to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is Dr. Brian Penner, who works in internal medicine at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre (HSC).
The province began its COVID-19 immunization campaign this morning at the University of Manitoba's campus adjacent to the HSC.
About 900 healthcare workers who fall into priority groups will be the first to be immunized in Manitoba, with more doses of the Pfizer vaccine expected to be delivered later this month.
Details on the number of vaccine doses expected in that second shipment have not yet been released.
Premier Brian Pallister vaccination sites will eventually be set up throughout the province, including the Parkland.
He calls today a “monumental day in Manitoba” which comes nine months after the first positive case was reported in the province.
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- Contributed by 730 CKDM
The man charged with second-degree murder for a stabbing in Gilbert Plains had his cases remanded.
40-year-old David Genaille was in Dauphin Court on Monday and will be back in court on February 22nd, 2021.
In May 2019, RCMP responded to a stabbing at a home in Gilbert Plains.
A wounded 36-year-old man died at the scene.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
22-year-old Matthew Benn was remanded in custody for sentencing April 29th, 2021 after pleading guilty to aggravated assault of a peace officer earlier this week.
The incident happened in May last year when Manitoba First Nations Police were responding to a disturbance at a business on the Waywayseecappo First Nation.
The officer was stabbed multiple times while attempting to arrest a man.
The officer, 29-years-old, was treated for serious injuries in a hospital before being released.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
A man has appeared in court again in connection to a violent home invasion in Russell in 2019.
Last December, Russell RCMP responded to a home invasion at an apartment complex, where a 32-year-old woman was assaulted in her sleep.
Three men were arrested including 30-year-old Harley Mecas, who was in Brandon, Monday, pleading not guilty.
He was remanded in custody for his trial in November 2021.
The other two men, 32-year-old Christopher Benn and 40-year-old Elroy Benn are also in custody.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
To help ease the workload of Health Minister Cameron Friesen during the pandemic, Premier Brian Pallister is thinking about appointing a second health minister.
In a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, Pallister wanted to make it clear that this isn’t a criticism of Friesen.
"It's not a reflection on my faith or trust in Cam Friesen. Nobody has worked harder."
As Manitoba continues to deal with high COVID cases, Pallister says the move would be temporary because he doesn’t want to make permanent changes due to a short term demand.
During the fall Manitoba led the country in new infections per capita, causing testing capacity and contract tracing to fail to keep up with the high demand.
There are other provinces that have double health ministers such as Ontario where one focuses on long-term care and BC where the other focuses on mental health and addictions.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) says emergency department services at the Grandview hospital will resume Monday, Dec 21.
Some staff at the Grandview District Health Centre were reassigned to the Grandview Personal Care Home to provide support with the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, resulting in the suspension of some services at the hospital.
Some health services continued to operate at the Grandview hospital, including lab and X-ray services, and the clinic.
The province says 34 cases of COVID-19 have been identified at the Grandview PCH, resulting in the death of two care home residents.
A release from PMH states more details on the emergency department reopening plan will be available later this week.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
