Manitoba

Walmart Canada will stop selling machetes — a type of weapon frequently used in violent crimes — in stores across the country, after Manitoba's government pressured the retailer to restrict online sales.

The company "will no longer sell long-bladed weapons Canada-wide," spokesperson Felicia Fefer said Wednesday night in an email.

"We're currently removing them from sale in our stores and online."

Fefer noted the company's Manitoba stores already did not offer in-person sales of long-bladed weapons.

Premier Wab Kinew says the Manitoba government will continue countermeasures announced in response to U.S. tariffs announced earlier this week, even though some of those tariffs have now been put on hold.

Manitoba Hydro will also review contracts on energy exports to the United States, Kinew said Thursday.

The wildlife branch said Lazy Bear's licence has been rescinded for the 2025 season because of the continuing decline in the number of polar bears on the western side of Hudson Bay.

"This decision is intended to align with Manitoba's conservation priorities for polar bears and the protection of the sensitive tundra ecosystem," wildlife branch director Maria Arlt said in a letter to Daudrich on Feb. 27.

"Additionally, concerns about the potential habituation of polar bears to vehicles, which poses safety risks, further underscore the necessity of this limit."

"I believe the bureaucracy is being weaponized by Wab Kinew against me," said Daudrich, claiming he is ahead of Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan in the PC leadership race.

Edited from the original headline, which was "U.S. alcohol pulled from Manitoba shelves in response to tariffs: Kinew)

Four people have been arrested on drug trafficking charges, and an arrest warrant has been issued for another, after Winnipeg police began investigating fentanyl products pressed and packaged into colourful shapes similar to cut-out cookies, candles and soaps.

The Winnipeg Police Service said in a Saturday news release its guns and gangs unit began an investigation in January around drug trafficking in the West Alexander neighbourhood. The police service issued a warning earlier last month about the colourfully packaged opioids, pressed into shapes including flowers, hearts and honeycombs.

In addition to the four arrests, that investigation led to the seizure of roughly $225,000 worth of illicit drugs and about $53,000 in cash during a February traffic stop and searches at two residences, according to police.

The chief of the only First Nation to fully own a mining company in Manitoba says he wants the provincial and federal governments to recognize his community's role in boosting critical mineral exploration as a global race to secure those materials heats up.

Norway House Cree Nation Chief Larson Anderson says his community took full ownership of the Minago nickel project on the Thompson nickel belt in November. The mine could enter production within the next five years, he said.

Nickel — which is used to make things like stainless steel, solar panels and batteries — is not the only critical mineral at the site. Magnesium deposits were recently discovered and they're believed to be more abundant and valuable than nickel, Anderson said.

While Anderson has noticed the federal and provincial governments jointly announcing support for mining organizations and new mining companies across the country, he says that hasn't been the case for Norway House.