Rochelle Squires, a prominent figure of the Manitoba cabinet, was left unexpectedly outmaneuvered in the recent provincial election; she insists that the causality of this loss lies in the shift of her own Progressive Conservative party toward a more hard-right position during the campaigns. Squires, whose tenure has, for years, seen her in various posts within the Tory administration since 2016, expressed profound surprise at the campaign advertisements that contradicted the government’s work to date, particularly those against searching a landfill for the remains of missing Indigenous women.
Her shock stemmed not merely from the ads themselves; these ads represented a stark departure from the principles upheld by the government she served over the past seven and a half years. The deviation was so jarring that Squires made the unanticipated decision to cease leading news conferences and, instead, shied from the election spotlight.
Winnipeg’s south, her Riel constituency, became her focal point. This saw her abstain from participation in the final campaign event of party leader, Heather Stefanson, the day before the vote. The election aftermath was a bleak reality for the Tories as they lost numerous seats in Winnipeg, successfully retaining only three of the city’s 32 seats. The NDP further locked horns with the Tories, securing large portions of the city and eventually forming a majority government.
Squires, applauded for the progressive streak she brought to the caucus whilst serving as families minister, made significant strides – increasing financial backing for women’s initiatives, LGBTQ groups, and people with disabilities while marching in Pride parades even before her election.
The government’s decision to aggressively advertise its refusal to search for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran in Prairie Green Landfill was profoundly unsettling for Squires. Stefanson defended this move due to safety concerns about asbestos and hazardous materials, although a federally funded study outlined feasible but expensive special safety measures. Still, the Tory campaign manager, Marni Larkin, sees these as marks of Stefanson’s ability to make tough decisions under intense public scrutiny.
Other Tory actions flamed the pendulum’s swing to the right, such as the ‘stronger parental rights’ in schools pledge, leading Squires to believe that the party is at a critical junction. She challenged the party to clarify its identity, insisting that if it continues to veer right, it should do so honestly and drop the ‘progressive’ label.
Despite her potential for Tory leadership, Squires lost her seat to the NDP’s Mike Moyes, a fate shared by several other urban Tories. With intentions of retiring from politics, she reflects on the Tory campaign’s criticisms, agreeing with David McLaughlin, former Tory administration’s manager, on his assertion that its subtractive campaign harmed chances of success. McLaughlin juxtaposed the landfill ads with Stephen Harper’s contentious plan of 2015 of a hotline for “barbaric cultural practices” reports, an idea that met severe public backlash.
Regardless of the disappointments faced, Squires looks forward to her future chapter, marking her departure from public service with a nuanced understanding of the shifting political landscape.
