The bassist in Winnipeg indie-pop band Royal Canoe and his partner died on Canada Day after the vehicle they were in was struck along a highway in western Manitoba, RCMP say.

Brendan Berg and his partner,  Olivia Michalczuk, died Tuesday, Royal Canoe said in a statement on Instagram. Berg would have turned 43 Wednesday, the band said. Michalczuk was 31.

"We are all in a state of shock trying to process this tragic news. Brendan was the kindest, sweetest man you could ever know, and his passing ha…