‘New norm’: election signs missing and vandalized across Manitoba

More campaign signs are being vandalized and going missing in Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie ahead of this year’s municipal elections, council candidates say.

Throughout the campaign, Chris Sweryda says his signs have disappeared and more voters in the ward are afraid of putting signs up because it could attract vandalism and damage.

A slew of his orange and teal signs along Hespeler Avenue were vandalized, Sweryda says.

“It’s quite upsetting. It certainly is a drain in the campaign and takes time from dealing with the actual issues in this ward,” he said, noting he has spent around $9,000 dollars on signage with each sign costing around $22.50 depending on size.

Council candidates Nafiya Naso and Jasmine Brar in the Waverley West ward also had their signs spray-painted with hurtful messages and ripped apart in August and September.

“It’s not just in Winnipeg. It’s everywhere, and sadly I think it’s just become the new norm,” said Naso in a telephone interview on Monday.

A Portage la Prairie councillor seeking re-election said more than half of his signs are gone and a few other candidates in the area are also losing theirs.

“It has been a pretty big issue this year,” said Colin Doyle, a councillor candidate in Portage la Prairie. “It took them some time to actually do this amount of damage to the signs, and they’re not easy things to destroy either.”

His signs were ripped, mangled, and soiled, images reviewed by Global News show.

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