Manitoba Cancels Two Teachers Licenses Over Student Messages

Two Manitoba teachers have permanently lost their teaching credentials following investigations into inappropriate communications with students, including repeated late-night messages and conduct that violated professional boundaries. The disciplinary decisions, published in October 2026 by the province's independent teacher commissioner, concern Robert Gregoire, formerly employed by River East Transcona School Division, and Brady Nurse, who worked for Portage la Prairie School Division.

According to the commissioner's findings, Gregoire exchanged hundreds of text messages with a student using his personal cellphone and more than 1,000 messages through Microsoft Teams between 2022 and 2024. The communications began when the student was in Grade 8 and continued after she moved to high school.

The disciplinary decision described the relationship as an inappropriately close relationship that crossed professional boundaries. Gregoire used affectionate nicknames, told the student he missed her, and repeatedly invited her to meet him outside school, including at restaurants, for ice cream, and for weekend skating.

The commissioner characterized the conduct as a serious abuse of the trust placed in teachers. The messages were exchanged during school hours, late at night, and during school breaks and vacations, according to the disciplinary records.

Gregoire's middle school principal warned him in June 2024 against personal messaging with students and reminded him that communications should be limited to educational purposes with students he taught. The school division's code of conduct also prohibited personal text messages, special treatment, and spending time with students outside school hours.

Despite the warning, Gregoire continued communicating with the student. He later pursued a teaching position at her new high school and told her he was pleased to learn he would teach one of her classes. The division placed him on administrative leave in December 2024 after he hugged the student goodbye at the high school.

River East Transcona School Division filed a complaint with the commissioner on April 20, 2026, prompting an investigation the following day. Gregoire was dismissed, accepted the investigation's findings, and surrendered his teaching certificate in May. The commissioner permanently cancelled the credential on October 6, 2026.

The disciplinary decision described the exchanges as a sustained and deliberate pattern of misconduct rather than isolated lapses in judgment. It also found that Gregoire had failed to disclose the relationship. The report stated that he accepted responsibility for his actions and expressed remorse.

River East Transcona School Division Superintendent Sandra Herbst said the division supported the commissioner's ruling and took the matter seriously. She also raised concerns about inaccuracies in the record's timeline and said she had contacted the commissioner's office to address them.

The second case involved Brady Nurse, whose teaching certificate was permanently cancelled on October 16, 2026, after an investigation into messages exchanged with a student between October and December 2025. The commissioner found that the communications involved a student experiencing heightened vulnerability that Nurse knew about.

The investigation began after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police contacted Portage la Prairie School Division on December 9, 2025. Nurse supplied copies of his text messages the following day, but the division subsequently asked whether additional messages existed.

Nurse initially said he had provided all the messages. When asked specifically about communications exchanged on November 18, he retrieved additional deleted messages, according to the disciplinary report.

During an interview with division staff in January 2026, Nurse acknowledged withholding some messages because he feared they might be perceived as inappropriate. He admitted to the conduct, resigned in March, and voluntarily surrendered his teaching certificate in May before its permanent cancellation.

The commissioner described Nurse's conduct as a fundamental breach of a teacher's duty of care to students. The published decision did not identify the student's gender or grade. Both teachers voluntarily entered consent resolution agreements outlining the established facts and disciplinary consequences.