Ottawa Election Signs Get Vandalized With Slurs & 2 Female Candidates Are Responding
One of the signs reads "witch."
Election signs vandalized in Ottawa.
At least two female candidates in Ottawa have seen their provincial campaign signs vandalized this month. While one reads “witch,” more have been spotted in various areas of the city.
On May 13, Ontario NDP Kanata-Carleton candidate Melissa Coenraad was passing through Constance Bay just outside of Ottawa city centre. That’s when she noticed that her bright orange signs looked a bit different.
Signs that she had placed along a suburban area road had black graffiti on them. The word “witch,” was written across one sign, with an angry smiley face drawn underneath it. Another sign read "b*tch."
Coenraad took to Twitter that day, saying, “I know that art comes in all shapes and sizes, but campaign signs aren’t canvases."
I know that art comes in all shapes and sizes, but campaign signs aren't canvases. Someone in Constance Bay felt artsy today. Please don't deface anyone's campaign signs. We can disagree on politics and still be civil.\n #onpoli #TeamCoenraadpic.twitter.com/mwnWLwCs5g— Melissa Coenraad (she/her) (@Melissa Coenraad (she/her)) 1652471535
Coenraad, who is on her third campaign, says that although sign damage is common during election periods, she feels that this year’s graffiti could be gender-based.
“It’s happening to what appears to be female candidates in different ridings in Ottawa,” Coenraad told Narcity. “You never want to label it, but it definitely feels gender-based this year, which hasn't been something that I felt in the past.”
Sign defacement has happened to at least one other female candidate in the region.
Ontario Liberal Ottawa-Vanier candidate Lucille Collard says she had at least four of her signs vandalized. One of the signs shows her face graffitied with a short black moustache.
Thank you everyone for the overwhelming response in my DMs and messages. Not how I wanted to start Mother\u2019s Day but such is a campaign (unfortunately).\n\nQuite a few offered to help me replace these signs by donating - any amount helps:\nhttps://ontarioliberal.ca/donate/?pla=80\u00a0 #onpoli #ottnewshttps://twitter.com/LucilleCollard/status/1523332100170035201\u00a0\u2026— Lucille Collard (@Lucille Collard) 1652032544
Collard first noticed the signs during a trip to the grocery store on Mother's Day. She adds that she believes the drawing was of a Hitler moustache. "That was a little bit shocking," Collard says.
"It's okay to disagree but it doesn't have to be done that way," the Liberal candidate adds. "There are other ways to voice your disagreement."
Collard says she's had to repair or replace four of her signs so far.
Twitter responses have been "really positive"
Coenraad says she’s trying not to take any sign damage personally, but that, at times, it can be challenging.
“It's hard for sure,” she told Narcity. “When you feel targeted in your riding it's a little more challenging, but my team and I have taken it from the perspective of ‘we're doing something right.'"
Some real estate agents messaged Coenraad saying they also have had their signs vandalized, Coenraad said. But the NDP candidate said she has also received messages denouncing the graffiti across party lines.
“The support that came from Constance Bay was a little bit overwhelming,” Coenraad said. “I didn't expect it—it was really positive.”
Collard said that some people have since offered to replace her vandalized signs.
Sign damage has happened in other regions across Ontario. On May 16, Ontario Green Party candidate Krystal Brooks, who is from Rama First Nation, shared a video on social media showing how her signs were vandalized with the words, "go back to the reserve B*tch."
On the same day, Peel Regional Police said they had charged two men in their 20s after reports that two suspects had damaged and stolen political signs in Brampton, Ontario.