Free transit passes coming for Winnipeg high school students
Winnipeg high school students will receive free Winnipeg Transit passes beginning in September under a provincial pilot program for the 2026–27 school year.
The program covers students aged 11 to 21 enrolled in public, independent or home-school programs in Winnipeg. Passes will be valid from September 2026 through August 2027.
Winnipeg Transit is working with Manitoba’s education system to distribute the passes through schools. Distribution will take place by grade, with schools providing families with information on how students can receive their passes. Winnipeg Transit is expected to release further rollout details by the end of August.
The Manitoba government committed $10 million to the one-year pilot, which also includes transit systems in Selkirk, Brandon and Flin Flon.
The program is intended to reduce transportation costs for high school students and increase access to public transit during the school year.
Winnipeg mayoral race reaches 11 candidates
Winnipeg’s mayoral race now has 11 registered candidates ahead of the city’s Oct. 28 municipal election.
Incumbent Mayor Scott Gillingham is seeking re-election alongside Mazher Alam, Johnny Calderon, Christopher Clacio, Umar Hayat, Joshua Pagdato, Noah Redden, Zac Uminski, Don Woodstock, Michael Vogiatzakis and Brad Gross.
The growing field comes less than two months before voters are scheduled to elect Winnipeg’s mayor, city councillors and school trustees. Candidates must complete the nomination process by Sept. 22 to have their names appear on the final ballot.
Candidates have until the nomination deadline to formally enter the race, meaning the current 11-candidate field could still change before voting day.
The municipal election will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026.
Mira Safa elected UMGPS VP external affairs & senator
Mira Safa was elected vice-president external affairs and senator of the U of M Postdoctoral Graduate Society (UMGPS) in a by-election held from Aug. 4 to 6.
Three graduate students contested the position. Provisional results released by the chief returning officer on Aug. 6 showed Safa receiving 139 votes, representing 48 per cent of the total votes cast.
Pacific Rusati finished second with 100 votes, representing 34 per cent of the vote, while Sakshi Verma received 51 votes, representing 18 per cent.
Safa, a PhD candidate in the college of pharmacy, said her priorities will focus on maintaining ongoing work while addressing urgent issues facing graduate students.
“My goal is for every graduate student to feel heard, represented and confident that their concerns are being brought forward,” Safa said.
U of M welcomes 137 new medical students
The U of M’s Max Rady college of medicine welcomed 137 students to its class of 2030 at a white coat ceremony on Aug. 19 at Winnipeg’s Centennial Concert Hall.
The incoming students, aged 21 to 49, include 11 Indigenous students, 51 students connected to rural communities and five enrolled in the bilingual French stream.
The ceremony marked the beginning of the students’ four-year medical education, with students receiving white coats from physicians and educators before reciting an ethical pledge for physicians.
The new class includes students interested in addressing health-care needs in rural and underserved communities.
