A group representing more than a dozen Manitoba municipalities says RCMP are investigating a gruesome Halloween display the group believes was meant to intimidate local politicians.
Ivan Normandeau, president of the Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities, says it involves five nearly life-sized person-shaped figures hanging from a noose in a home's yard in the municipality of Tache, about 40 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.
Normandeau, who is also the reeve of the nearby municipality of La Broquerie, says the display includes a yellow-and-white sign above the figures that says: Politics All Tricks No Treats.
He adds that four of the figures have the word "ward" written on their legs next to numbers that seem to refer to specific wards in Tache.
Tache Mayor Armand Poirier says his council met over the weekend to discuss the display and will release more details on Monday.
Mounties did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
Normandeau said he believed one figure represents Tache's mayor, noting it wore a red crown and had a sign next to it that said: Tache Muncipal Matters For Sale.
"This is so intimidating and it's graphic," Normandeau said.
"I know all the councillors in that municipality ... It's crazy how a person can put this in front of their house and think nothing of it."
He said he has received threatening phone calls and emails over the years but has never seen a display like the one in Tache in the municipalities he represents.
He said social media has made people more comfortable intimidating government officials.
"I've been doing this for 12 years and it wasn't as bad as the last five or six years with social media. It's something that needs to be addressed," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2025.