WINNIPEG — Winnipeg police have arrested a man after a Manitoba cabinet minister received racist and threatening letters.

Nahanni Fontaine, the families minister who was first elected 10 years ago, says she received letters in July and September that contained vile and grotesque language.

Fontaine, who is Indigenous, says she has received many hateful letters during her time in office, but these were especially troubling and some of her colleagues told her to involve police.

Winnipeg police say they investigated the anonymous letters and arrested a 72-year-old man on Saturday who faces charges of criminal harassment and uttering threats.

Fontaine says she doesn’t know the who the person arrested is.

Fontaine and another Indigenous cabinet minister, Bernadette Smith, had their constituency offices hit by attempted arson last year, and a man was charged with those and more than a dozen other fires and break-ins in Winnipeg.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2026

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press