On March 20, 2026, more than 100 people gathered at Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba, for a public event to raise awareness about intimate partner violence. The gathering, held at 4:00 p.m. in the Kavanagh Courtyard, invited students and residents to stand in solidarity with survivors of domestic abuse.
The event was organized following a violent assault on March 12, 2026, when Alexis Bukarz, an 18-year-old high school student from Virden, was seriously injured in a university parking lot. University President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Christine Bovis-Cnossen and Mayor Jeff Fawcett joined the crowd to show support for the victim and her family. Participants wore purple, the international colour for intimate partner violence awareness, and took part in a two-minute moment of silence.
Jessica Laxdal, the Sexual Violence Education and Prevention Coordinator at the school, helped lead the gathering and works to connect survivors with local resources like the Western Manitoba Women’s Centre and the YWCA Westman Women’s Shelter. She noted that the event was a way to make a public statement of support rather than holding a closed-door meeting. The university also provided free parking for the day to encourage more community members to attend.
According to Statistics Canada, Manitoba has the second-highest rate of police-reported intimate partner violence among Canadian provinces. To help address these concerns, the school launched a resource guide in December 2025. This guide is designed to help residents in rural and northern areas find the emergency services and shelters they need.
