The election campaign in the Provencher riding has taken an ugly turn as the Liberal candidate says his signs have been vandalized with transphobic slurs.
Trevor Kirczenow is openly transgender, and says things have gone too far.
“At the start of this campaign, my campaign signs began disappearing and really to extremes,” Kirczenow told 680 CJOB. “To the point where 100 signs have been stolen or driven over.”
Supporters then messaged him saying stickers which read “broken” along with a transphobic slur had been placed on signs in Steinbach and La Broquerie. He says RCMP is investigating.
Kirczenow also ran in 2019, and can’t comprehend why this hatred has surfaced this time around.
“This campaign is feeling more intense all-around. I don’t know if I’m seen as more of a threat this time to my Conservative opponent.”
But he says up until this point, the election experience had been better for him, as he’s attracted more volunteers and his conversations at the doors have been more positive.
READ MORE: Experts point to must-watch Manitoba ridings
Kirczenow is trying to defeat PC incumbent Ted Falk, who has been MP in the region since 2013.
“Our communities in this riding are full of kind and caring individuals,” he said. “Even if we don’t always agree on politics, I think most people agree that tampering with a sign this way is wrong.
The Liberal candidate says it’s been tough for him to speak to his children about the vandalism.
“At the end of the day, after long conversations, my older child said that you don’t look broken to me,” Kirczenow said. “I think he’s very right about that. LGBTQ2S people are not broken, we don’t need to be fixed, we don’t need conversion therapy.
“And we are such a diverse group of people. And there’s much much more to my candidacy than my gender identity.”