ManitobaMunicipal officials in southern Manitoba are expressing concern and outrage after a disturbing display popped up on a property depicting local politicians hanging in a gallows. Display depicts municipal officials being hung from a gallowsDave Baxter · CBC News · Posted: Nov 02, 2025 9:26 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesA display in the rural municipality of Taché shows several disturbing images, including a life-sized firefighter figure wearing a ‘For Sale’ sign and a dollar-sign necklace. (CBC)WARNING: This story contains disturbing details and images depicting violence towards elected officials.Municipal officials in southern Manitoba are concerned after a disturbing display popped up on a property depicting local politicians hanging from a gallows.The Rural Municipality of Taché council held a meeting Saturday to discuss a display that has been set up in a yard at a home on Municipal Road 41E, in the community of Ste-Geneviève, located within the municipality.It shows, among other disturbing imagery, five life-sized figures being hung from what looks like a homemade gallows.Municipal officials in southern Manitoba are expressing concern after a disturbing display popped up on a property depicting local politicians hanging from a gallows. (Abdellatif Izika/CBC)Four of the five figures have municipal ward numbers painted on them, including wards two, four, five and six. Another figure hanging in the middle is seen wearing a crown and a dollar-sign necklace. The word “karma” is spelled in neon green across all five figures.Above the hanging figures the term “politics all trick no treats” is written. Another figure depicts a firefighter wearing a “For Sale” sign around its neck along with a dollar-sign necklace. Rural Municipality of Taché Mayor Armand Poirier told CBC News on Saturday he has been told RCMP are now investigating the display. He added council is expecting to release more information Monday. The display also features several other signs with varying messages. A CBC reporter knocked on the door of the home on Saturday, but nobody answered. RCMP have not responded to requests for comment.Ivan Normandeau, the reeve of the rural municipality of La Broquerie, as well as the president of the Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities said municipal officials in southern Manitoba have been expressing concern since a disturbing display appeared on a yard in the rural municipality of Taché. (Abdellatif Izika/CBC)Ivan Normandeau, the reeve of the rural municipality of La Broquerie, as well as the president of the Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (AMBM), said municipal officials in southern Manitoba have been expressing deep concerns since the display first appeared. “As an elected official, it’s very concerning to see when people are intimidating or going after you personally, and it was so visible in somebody’s yard,” Normandeau said. “Usually we get emails or phone calls, but never something that graphic.”Normandeau said officials in rural Manitoba have been dealing with increased issues of threats toward them over the last several years. “These days with social media it’s becoming worse and worse,” he said. “I pity the next generation with all the social media these days. “It’s a lot of misinformation, and it’s harmful.”He said the AMBM is now working with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities to see what the organizations can do to improve safety and decrease the amount of threats being levelled at municipal officials.Police say they are investigating a disturbing display in the yard of a home in the RM of Taché. The display shows, among other disturbing imagery life-sized figures being hung from what looks like a homemade gallows. (Abdellatif Izika/CBC)He’s also worried that increased threats and displays like the one in Sainte-Geneviève may push people away from running for municipal office in Manitoba. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew also expressed concern about the display while speaking with reporters at an unrelated event Friday, and said he is asking residents to find more civil ways to express their frustration with politicians. “I don’t think any of us want to see violent imagery,” Kinew said. “I think no matter what the issue is, no matter how fired up you are about politics or policy, we gotta keep things calm, we gotta keep it respectful.”You can find a way to articulate your objection, maybe even a personal criticism of a politician, such as myself, but we don’t need to have a visual, or something that is violent.”Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew also expressed concern about the display while speaking with reporters at an unrelated event Friday. (Abdellatif Izika/CBC)He added that the Minister of Municipal and Northern Relations Glen Simard has been in touch with leaders in the area to discuss the display. ABOUT THE AUTHORDave Baxter is an award-winning reporter and editor currently working for CBC Manitoba. Born and raised in Winnipeg, he has also previously reported for the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press, as well as several rural Manitoba publications.With files from Morgan Knoll
Disturbing display of hanging politicians sparks concerns in rural Manitoba
