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Canadian Urbanism Uncovered

Election sign vandalism

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In response to our request for election sign photos (we’ve especially interested in photos taken during campaigns in the 1990s or earlier), Kate McDonnell sent us a few she took during the 2003 provincial election.

All of the signs she photographed had been vandalized, which can sometimes reveal some interesting things about what people really think of political candidates. The ADQ’s posters seem to attract more Hitler moustaches and dollar signs than those for other parties; posters for the Liberals are often the target of messages about corruption.

Two of Kate’s photos are especially interesting. In one, somebody has attacked a poster for the UFP’s leader Amir Khadir (who later became a spokesperson for Québec solidaire when his party joined forces with Option citoyenne) with the inscription, “CCCP communiste.” But, on another Khadir sign, somebody wrote something far more damning: “Gauche bourgeoise.”

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3 comments

  1. Not exactly vandalism, but following (I think) the byelection in Outremont that put Thomas Mulcair into office, some enterprising individual(s) took down some of the leftover signs along Queen Mary. Sometime later, they went back up. But they had been turned into pinwheels.

    Again, not the same thing since this happened *after* the election, but very cool.

    I think I have a photo of them on my computer at home. I’ll check later, and if it’s there, I’ll come back and comment again.

  2. Defacing an election sign is illegal., at least it is in the rest of Canada.
    Yes you can be criminally charged for defacing, stealing them., they are government property.

  3. How can they be “government” property if they are paid for and put up by the candidate’s campaign organization? Are you saying the Tories “own” the Bloq’s posters?

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