By Natasha Bulowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Canada’s National Observer

As Parliament resumes, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are striking a more conciliatory tone on issues like crime but remain unrelenting in their demands to axe carbon pricing and fast-track pipelines. Parliament returned on Jan. 26 after an eventful week marked by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum […]

By Times Staff

The Town of Fort Frances is now accepting applications for portions of the $101,000 allotment the municipality has received for this year’s Moffat Family Fund grant. Managed by the Winnipeg Foundation, the Moffat Family Fund’s primary goal is to support and advance the economic, social, physical and intellectual well-being of […]

By Times Staff

In a press release Thursday morning Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper announced it will no longer be producing newsprint after the first quarter of 2026. Citing a uniquely large decline in demand for newsprint over the past several years, Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper announced today that it will file […]

By Matt Prokopchuk
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
TBnewswatch.com

KENORA — Dangerously cold conditions are persisting across the region. Environment Canada is maintaining orange-coded cold warnings from the Manitoba boundary east through Shabaqua and points north. The weather office says with the wind, conditions will feel like -40 C to -45 C. In the very far north near Hudson […]

By Sandi Krasowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Chronicle-Journal

Members of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) returned from the Rural Ontario Municipal Association Conference in Toronto this week where sessions reaffirmed provincial commitment to advancing priorities of the Northwest’s 37 municipalities. Rick Dumas, NOMA president, told The Chronicle-Journal that they met with provincial ministers, associate ministers, parliamentary assistants, […]

By Anna Smith
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Medicine Hat News

Last year made the top 10 in insured weather damage, with costs exceeding $2.4 billion. According to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc, 2025 is the 10th costliest year on record for weather-related insured losses. The most costly event was the late-March ice storm in Ontario and Quebec, at $490 million […]

By Liam Oliver Neilson
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
lneilson@fortfrances.com

Newcomers from various fields and backgrounds are establishing themselves in Fort Frances as several new career-oriented individuals, including a law student, Economic Development Officer, and optometry student, have recently join its ranks. Silas Young Working to complete his legal studies at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., Silas Young has […]

By Times Staff

Grand Council Treaty #3 is advising members who live in or are passing through the United States to take precautions when they cross the border or visit the U.S. after reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are targeting First Nations citizens. “Recent reports indicate that some First Nation […]

By Allan Bradbury
Staff Writer
abradbury@fortfrances.com

Canadian rock, reggae, and blues outfit Big Sugar will open the 2026 portion of the Tour De Fort concert series at the Townshend Theatre next Wednesday night. Active off and on since 1988, the band is currently the re-release of their 1996 platinum selling album Hemi-Vision and will play through […]

By Liam Oliver Neilson
Staff writer
lneilson@fortfrances.com

There are no current plans to restart efforts to rename Colonization Street in Emo, Ont., and the street name will remain for the foreseeable future, according to the township’s mayor. Emo Mayor Harold McQuaker said the committee of residents living on the street came to the decision themselves over concerns […]

By Andrew Flynn
Editor-in-Chief
aflynn@fortfrances.com

The District of Rainy River Services Board (DRRSB) has approved a $38.6-million budget for 2026 that maintains spending in key areas but acknowledges “financial pressures” being felt by municipalities and service system managers across rural and Northern Ontario. The budget, which increased the municipal levy by 4.63 per cent, did […]