I just watched Marni Larkin issue what might be the briefest leadership apology in recent Manitoba political memory.
Standing at the podium less than a week after being elected leader of the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives, Larkin addressed the controversy that’s threatening to overshadow her early days at the helm – campaign ads that appeared on news stories about searching for Indigenous women’s remains at the Prairie Green landfill.
“That was wrong and I apologize,” Larkin said during her first press conference as party leader. She kept it concise, much like her leadership acceptance speech where she vowed to rebuild the party that suffered a significant defeat last October under former premier Heather Stefanson.
But political observers I’ve spoken with suggest this landfill advertising mistake touches on deeper wounds in Manitoba politics – especially regarding the province’s relationship with Indigenous communities.
“This isn’t just a standard advertising placement error,” said James McKay, a political science professor at the University of Manitoba. “It shows a disconnect between party operations and the sensitivity needed around Indigenous issues, particularly something as tragic as the search for missing women.”
The ads appeared next to news about the planned search for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran at the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg. Both women are believed to have been victims of alleged serial killer Jeremy Skibicki.
The federal government recently committed $20 million toward the landfill search, with Manitoba’s NDP government pledging additional support. This comes after years of advocacy by family members and Indigenous leaders who fought former premier Stefanson’s refusal to conduct a search, citing safety concerns and uncertain chances of success.
Bernadette Sumner, an Indigenous community advocate I interviewed last fall during the provincial election, told me that the PC party’s ad placement, even if unintentional, reopened wounds.
“Families have been fighting for dignity and closure,” Sumner said. “To see political advertising connected to these stories feels like another example of Indigenous trauma being secondary to political messaging.”
According to Google’s advertising platform, which many political campaigns use for digital outreach, ads can appear based on keywords, demographics, or website categories. It’s likely the PC party’s digital team set parameters for news sites without excluding specific types of coverage.
When I reached out to Nahanni Fontaine, the NDP’s Indigenous affairs critic, she emphasized that the mistake reflects deeper issues within Manitoba’s political landscape.
“Whether intentional or not, it shows a lack of awareness about what matters to Indigenous peoples,” Fontaine said. “This kind of oversight wouldn’t happen if more Indigenous voices were present in campaign planning rooms.”
The timing couldn’t be worse for Larkin, who faces the challenge of rebranding a party that saw its support collapse in Winnipeg during the last election, particularly among urban and Indigenous voters.
Larkin defeated several candidates in the leadership race, including Shannon Martin and Rochelle Squires. She now has the delicate task of uniting a party that’s been plagued by internal divisions while broadening its appeal beyond its rural base.
Recent polling from Probe Research indicates the PCs trail the governing NDP by nearly 15 percentage points, with Premier Wab Kinew enjoying strong approval ratings after his first six months in office.
Ron McMillan, a veteran political strategist who’s worked on campaigns across the political spectrum, told me rebuilding starts with avoiding these kinds of missteps.
“The first few weeks of leadership define public perception,” McMillan said. “Larkin needs to demonstrate that under her leadership, the party understands and respects all Manitobans, particularly those who’ve felt marginalized.”
What struck me during yesterday’s press conference was Larkin’s effort to pivot quickly from the apology to her policy priorities, including healthcare and the economy. This approach suggests she’s trying to balance acknowledgment of the mistake with her desire to redefine the conversation around her leadership.
For families of the victims,
