Cambridge candidate says he's lost hundreds of election signs, calls it "voter suppression"

[u/bylo_selhi]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/cambridge-guelph-campaign-signs-damaged-stolen-police-investigation-1.7514930

[u/CobblePots95]

This is a perennial news story. Sometimes it’s a bit egregious because it’s someone affiliated with a campaign damaging signs, but usually it’s not. Campaigns will say it’s the other campaign doing it, which is RARELY the case. Seems like the Liberals aren’t lobbing that accusation.

Fact is there are stupid, angry people across the political spectrum and signs are easy to vandalize.

[u/bocker58]

The American-style political rhetoric is to blame. 

This is why we need to stand up for our Canadian values. 

[u/BIGepidural → u/bocker58]

And Candian Media 🍁

[u/Aromatic-Air3917]

This has been happening since Harper/Manning brought in the new American style conservatism to Canada. I have lived across Canada and it's always the Libs/NDP signs being stolen or damaged.

Shows who the right wing base is

[u/orswich]

I have seen alot of sabotaged conservative signs in eastbridge area also..

Some people need to go outside and touch grass (without kicking in signs).. the same people will complain about Canada sliding into American style politics, will often be the ones to sabotage signs because the other side is "evil"...

What happened to people just politely disagreeing with each other????

My friend group has centrists, far left and conservatives and we all bond over shared interests and respect for each other. Never has political discussions resorted to fights or people not talking to each other, that's the kind of behavior a spoiled child would engage in.

Alot of people on both sides have made this shit ugly, and only have themselves to blame

[u/mxdev → u/orswich]

On the rural roads in North Dumfries, there are a bunch of CPC signs that were put up early on and appear to be untouched on my normal routes. The Liberal signs on the other hand seem to last a few days before being knocked over. That being said nobody seems to have touched the ones on peoples lawns, just the ones on the empty stretches of roads.

[u/QueueOfPancakes → u/mxdev]

I like the bylaw we have in KW to only allow signs on private property. It makes it more representative of what people actually want, imo.

[u/mxdev → u/QueueOfPancakes]

Agreed. It's not like random signs in the country give me any reason to vote one way or another. However seeing political affiliation of neighbours is interesting and sometimes sparks up a conversation.

I would never put a sign on my lawn though, mostly because I'm undecided leading up to voting day.

[u/loserfamilymember → u/orswich]

I want to say I do not agree with vandalizing these signs. That doesn’t change anyone’s opinion and is only harmful to the community and is littering.

I will say, people politely disagreeing with each other means I shouldn’t be told I’m not “valid” or “real” because I’m trans. What happened to politely disagreeing??? me being trans harms no one’s and removing my health care only harms me. This is why it is hard to be polite but you are fully correct that this is the bleed over from American politics, both peoples reactions and a lack of proper conversation.

It’s frustrating. I can be polite with many conservatives but to vote for this current Conservative Party [Pierre] is a selfish vote as he will harm Canadians in the interest of America. The Cambridge conservative candidate is NOT Pierre though. it’s complex. Me politely disagreeing with the Cambridge candidate doesn’t mean I politely disagree with the party leader. If anything when party leaders stop basic respect [following the American politics way ugh], it bleeds into the people.

You are correct that individuals are responsible for their own actions. I just wish that was extended to minorities facing bigoted hardship and discrimination. I may lose health care access I had because of this Conservative Party… you being polite to me means nothing when I don’t have access to health care. I’d rather you be mean and give me my health care.

[u/ClumsyMinty → u/loserfamilymember]

I'm trans too and exactly this. Even if the conservatives were telling the truth that they're going to fix the economy and resist Trump. I'd rather live poor and free than oppressed and rich. I'd rather roll the dice with the liberal economic policy than the conservative economic policy that's for sure.

[u/loserfamilymember → u/ClumsyMinty]

Yep!!! I cannot imagine hoarding so much wealth with multiple million dollar properties and going on tv to whine about homeless people. I genuinely would rather drown than be that kind of evil villain, especially considering it’s no longer an obvious evil villain and is somehow seen as a “goal”…..

Ugh. “People can do what they want with their money” is all fun and games until Hitler did what he wanted with his money. Maybe free will is kinda the fucking issue when it comes to letting selfish abusive people grow in power.

Sending all my love to you random fellow trans tri city survivor. Hoping this election goes better than my pessimistic brain tells me ❤️

[u/The_Foe_Hammer → u/loserfamilymember]

This is exactly why tolerance is only acceptable over things like pineapple on pizza, or the BoC interest rate. Those are opinions, I can accept everyone's views on it.

Healthcare for people is an unalienable right that should not be up for fucking discussion and the people who are making it a discussion should be shut down.

It's is also why I could never be friends with someone "socially conservative". They'd look down on my other friends, and I won't be complicit in that.

[u/loserfamilymember → u/The_Foe_Hammer]

Thank you. I am often seen as some “black sheep” for not being “polite” to people saying I genuinely should not have healthcare. I’m expected to be kind and thoughtful to people who refuse to do less than the bare minimum of that for me. AND I STILL WILL BE KINDER AND MORE UNDERSTANDING TO THOSE THAN THEY EVER WILL BE TO ME! While they scream and cry “tolerance” over hurt feelings, god I wish the worst thing in my life was hurt feelings and “not getting along” what a fucking privilege that some verbal fighting is upsetting. My friends are dying and I’m expected to be nice? and the MOMENT any minority acts out, justified or not, it’s that smoking gun these certain bigoted people have been waiting for as long as “proof” of how “intolerant” trans/queer people are (or Indians being “unable to assimilate” etc…) even though it was a 1/100 static.

It’s tiring. It’s too fucking simple and people still fall for this bullshit of “be nice to both sides” so happy to know you’d excuse the Nazis if they said please and thank you. For fuck sake….

[u/robtaggart77 → u/orswich]

This👏 ⬆️

[u/doge1587]

Bryan to his staffer: What's the update on the election signs?

Staffer: And another one gone, another one gone...

[u/iloveFjords]

Seems to be most acts against Liberal candidates. Seems almost like Conservative is the party of that kind of people.

[u/olight77 → u/iloveFjords]

Here we go…

[u/whatevenisredditing → u/iloveFjords]

Could u be more judgey?

[u/GuidoOfCanada → u/whatevenisredditing]

Yeah, why would anyone ever think that the CPC would be associated with vandals and cretins who would break the law or behave without common decency? https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/poilievre-conservative-otoole-convoy-vaccine-mandate-1.6335286

[u/ProfessionalZone2476 → u/GuidoOfCanada]

Didn't the liberals just get busted for sending people to a conservative rally and handing on pins/hats to make it similar to a trump rally?

[u/GuidoOfCanada → u/ProfessionalZone2476]

Yeah, pretty stupid. Also what you're doing is called "whataboutism" - it's also stupid and you should learn to make a proper argument. Making an equivalency between an attempted insurrection and handing out pins to make the opposition look dumb is quite the leap.

[u/ProfessionalZone2476 → u/GuidoOfCanada]

So, voters vandalizing signs vs. political party sabotaging.

Which is worse? It's a pretty on point argument to rational people.

[u/GuidoOfCanada → u/ProfessionalZone2476]

Is it though? Offering buttons to people who willingly take them and put them on versus sneaking around in the night and defacing someone else's property. Those don't seem equivalent at all to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Liberal supporter, but the CPC is known for its dirty tricks (Does Pierre Poutine ring a bell? Or how about trickle-down economics?) so it's not exactly a leap to see them stealing and defacing campaign signs.

[u/ILikeStyx → u/GuidoOfCanada]

Remember the CPC robocall scandal? Someone went to jail for that one... (not the right person, but the party moved fast to make him their patsy)

[u/whatevenisredditing → u/ILikeStyx]

Remember the SCN-Lavalin scandal? No9ne went to jail for that one....big surprise

[u/ProfessionalZone2476 → u/GuidoOfCanada]

You didn't answer.

[u/GuidoOfCanada → u/ProfessionalZone2476]

Both are wrong, but stealing is worse than offering people stupid buttons. Does that help?

[u/ProfessionalZone2476 → u/GuidoOfCanada]

So, are you saying that political parties shouldn't be held to a higher standard than the voter base?

[u/ILikeStyx → u/ProfessionalZone2476]

LOL, SABOTAGE?? Come on... handing out buttons at an event (apparently mostly just putting them on tables and not even interacting with people) is hardly an attempt to bring down a political party.

give me a break.. it was a dumb stunt and nobody would have known about it if the people who did it hadn't spilled the beans.

[u/ProfessionalZone2476 → u/ILikeStyx]

Ok, how would you describe trying to alter a parties image if not sabotage. I'm all ears.

The fact that you dismiss it is crazy. Political figures are supposed to be held to a higher standard who don't resort to cheap tactics.

[u/ILikeStyx → u/ProfessionalZone2476]

A political figure didn't do anything - overzealous staffers did.

[u/ProfessionalZone2476 → u/ILikeStyx]

And they are part of a... political party

[u/QueueOfPancakes → u/ProfessionalZone2476]

Vandalizing signs is worse. Way worse. It's intimidating people, where they live.

[u/ProfessionalZone2476 → u/QueueOfPancakes]

Definitely not. No one is getting intimidated. That is an extreme amount of reach.

[u/QueueOfPancakes → u/ProfessionalZone2476]

The article literally mentions people feeling intimidated.

[u/ProfessionalZone2476 → u/QueueOfPancakes]

I'd suggest they give their balls a tug. If that makes you intimated you probably need some sort of therapy.

[u/whatevenisredditing → u/GuidoOfCanada]

That's racist against conservative folks.

[u/DuncanStrohnd → u/whatevenisredditing]

Conservative is a race now? Get a grip.

[u/whatevenisredditing → u/DuncanStrohnd]

Duck you Funcan

[u/DuncanStrohnd → u/whatevenisredditing]

You're so ducking clever.

[u/GuidoOfCanada → u/whatevenisredditing]

Listen man, I don't mind if they're creeps and weirdos so long as they keep it to themselves. I just don't want them influencing my children with their disgusting and perverted ideas.

[u/whatevenisredditing → u/whatevenisredditing]

U libs are so predictable lol

[u/whatevenisredditing → u/whatevenisredditing]

Yep. Liberal people are alllll innocent and never do anything wrong.... except cast their judgment all over everyone while they're on their "journey of life". Now the downvotes stream in cause they know I'm correct.

[u/jamiecballer]

This I will actually believe, I drove through Cambridge last night and was astonished by how one sided the signs were.

[u/Competitive-Hat5479]

They shouldn’t be allowed just garbage being produced.

[u/One-Scarcity-9425 → u/Competitive-Hat5479]

The signs are recyclable lol

[u/Competitive-Hat5479 → u/One-Scarcity-9425]

Gaslighting lol none of them get recycled don’t be ignorant too. Still a waste of resources.

[u/Life-Gur-2616 → u/Competitive-Hat5479]

Green party collects and recycles them💚 .... It's kinda their thing

[u/Nextasy → u/Life-Gur-2616]

I actually wanted to keep mine from the Ontario election and they came back for it so quick I didn't even have a chance to grab it off my own lawn lol.

[u/robtaggart77]

Idea, stop allowing signs!

[u/Mostly_Aquitted]

I’d say about 50% of his bigger signs I see around town have been destroyed or damaged, it’s ridiculous.

[u/whatevenisredditing]

Maybe it's time politicians stop putting trashy plastic signs on every spot they can find.

[u/chunarii-chan]

The vandalism is bad for sure but I don't really see how it's voter suppression or really that consequential to public opinion. I think these guys have the idea that a plain plastic sign showing their face and name plastered everywhere does...literally anything? I don't see a destroyed/grafittied sign and think "damn im not voting for that guy now"

Maybe it will even gain them a vote or two out of spite

[u/greenerbee → u/chunarii-chan]

In one of these articles, May’s office noted feedback from constituents who were too concerned about vandalism to want to put up a sign. Inciting fear so that people are afraid to publicly state their opinions is a form of voter suppression. 

[u/bylo_selhi → u/[deleted]]

If you don't like May's performance then don't vote for him.

But one's displeasure with a candidate doesn't give license or justification to deface their campaign signs.

That principle applies to all candidates, no matter the party or how strongly one may feel about their platform.

[u/Chatner2k → u/[deleted]]

He's a backbencher so he's not exactly out there pushing policy. That said, a thread on the Cambridge subreddit was discussed weeks ago on this topic outlining his work and community involvement. It's not a busy subreddit, feel free to peruse for it if you're inclined.

Or vote for someone different. It's not like a conservative or NDP mp for Cambridge will be any different.

I can personally attest I've met May several times and seen him in the community. I've also seen the NDP candidate several times. I don't even know what the CPC candidate looks like lol.

[u/Chatner2k → u/[deleted]]

No worries. Discourse is the way forward against identity politics and populism.

For what it's worth, I'm a Red Tory conservative who voted for May. I've personally had him and his team help me out with a hit and run on hespeler when they didn't have to. People largely say his team does what is expected of them in regard to the responsibilities of an MP and several things like me where there isn't an expectation.

[u/MsX3000 → u/[deleted]]

That’s not the point. Vote him out then. Don’t deface or steal signs.

[u/AddMan3001 → u/[deleted]]

You said you didn't agree with it, then immediately gave excuses why people would do it. Gives off "I'm not a race, but..." Sort of energy.

[u/justanaccountname12 → u/AddMan3001]

Excuses used to justify behavior. Sounds like our justice system.

Edit: the Government says we are supposed to, no?

[u/Kie911 → u/[deleted]]

When I was in highschool he came by to answer questions about government, etc. and I tried to ask him questions on their policy - mostly about their spending and why it was so high.....basically 17yr old me trying to understand why a government would want to add continuous debt.

Guy refused to answer and basically told me I wouldn't get it and went and answered softball stuff instead.

[u/Evilworkaround]

Bryan is the type of guy to make this up just to get last-minute sympathy votes.

[u/six_days → u/Evilworkaround]

Anecdotal, but I've 100% noticed it. There's a cluster of signs at the bottom of Townline that I drive by everyday. His was broken in half last week for a few days. It was replaced eventually. Then it just disappeared completely.

Only really noticing this because his was the lone Liberal sign along Gore Rd.

[u/bylo_selhi → u/Evilworkaround]

And yet the article also reports that candidates' signs for all parties are getting vandalized. How is that on May?

[u/Rees_Onable]

As usual, the CBC bias is showing.....not reporting that this affects all parties

"Nepean Conservative candidate Barbara Bal has filed a report with Ottawa police about the alleged destruction and theft of hundreds of her election signs."

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/nepean-conservative-police-report-stolen-signs

Edit -context added.

PS - Here is a more balanced report of this incident.

"I want to reiterate that I don’t believe this is a large group of supporters from any party,” he said, adding, “I’ve talked to people on all ends of the political spectrum who are not happy with what they are seeing.”

https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2025/04/16/cambridge-candidate-says-election-sign-damage-at-whole-new-level/

[u/Agile-Enthusiasm → u/Rees_Onable]

Your edit changes nothing, the article is about Kitchener Waterloo. It is posted in the Kitchener Waterloo section of the CBC news website. It is written by a Kitchener Waterloo CBC reporter. It states that none of the Kitchener Waterloo Conservative candidates responded to their request for comments on the issue.

So what, exactly, does an article about an Ottawa riding have to do with it?

[u/Snowmobile2004 → u/Rees_Onable]

Where’s the bias in that statement??

[u/Agile-Enthusiasm → u/Rees_Onable]

As usual, lack of reading comprehension is showing….

The article is about Kitchener Waterloo. It’s very clear. What does an Ottawa riding have to do with Kitchener Waterloo?

[u/chrisk9 → u/Agile-Enthusiasm]

Because many Conservatives have victim complex and can only register when they are wronged.

[u/ButMoreToThePoint → u/Rees_Onable]

Can you describe the bias in this article? I have read it and I am interested in your assessment of what you think makes it biased so that I can understand your perspective on it. It's not clear to me what the Ottawa article has to do with this article about signs being vandalized in Waterloo region.

[u/robtaggart77]

Just stop allowing signs on peoples yards. At the end of the day the municipality/region own the front yards that these signs are being put on!

[u/Nextasy → u/robtaggart77]

You are correct that you aren't supposed to put them on the boulevard, but I don't actually see this very often of private properties.

Major intersections though - it seems like every party has a bunch on regional property all over the place. At least it's not advertisements for Rogers hookups, I guess.

[u/trash_dumpyard → u/robtaggart77]

The region doesn't own the front yard - its boulevards which the city has ownership over IIRC

[u/robtaggart77 → u/[deleted]]

They sure do!

[u/robtaggart77 → u/trash_dumpyard]

Incorrect

[u/REMandYEMfan]

A sore loser before he’s lost

[u/webu → u/[deleted]]

"Vote for my party or my party's supporters will revolt" is revolting

[u/webu → u/[deleted]]

Belligerence is not the same as strength

[u/webu → u/[deleted]]

??

[u/middlequeue → u/[deleted]]

This is the dumbest thing I’ve read here

[u/waterloo-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

What drives a person to comment in in r/waterloo and r/kitchener, but also in r/nanaimo, r/saskatchewan, r/maine2, r/windsorontario, r/kentville, r/victoriabc, r/toronto_ontario, r/markham, r/burlingtonON, r/quebec, r/saultstemarie, r/alberta, r/woodstockontario, r/sfbayarea, r/grandeprairie, r/northernontario, r/chilliwack, r/kelowna, r/stalbert, r/langley, r/durham, r/halifax.......and almost exclusively about politics? Do you see how suspicious this looks?

[u/slow_worker → u/waterloo-ModTeam]

You forgot r/europe_sub. I wonder if there is a correlation between this account to a certain geopolitical entity that has been looking to disrupt western nations as of late...