Larry O’Brien supporters won’t be able to stake their territory across the city as the mayor’s campaign has gone lawn-sign-free during this year’s municipal election.
O’Brien announced in August that he won’t be producing any campaign lawn signs because they’re expensive and old-fashioned.
But if name recognition counts for anything in elections, lawn signs can be simple and effective – and unlike O’Brien, some candidates don’t have the luxury of going sign-free.
For newcomers to civic politics, such as Don Fex, a candidate for councillor in Somerset Ward, lawn signs can be a crucial tool for much-needed exposure.
So it was a big blow for Fex when one of his supporters was told by her landlord to take a campaign sign down from her window.
Unfortunately for Fex, landlords have every right to force tenants to take down signs on their property. But this isn’t the case during a federal election.
The Canada Elections Act prohibits a landlord from ordering a tenant not to display an election sign “on the property to which the lease relates.” However, landlords can set “reasonable conditions on size and type of poster, and to prohibit posters in common areas.”
Sounds reasonable enough. So tenants aren’t allowed to put up signs in apartment hallways and lobbies, any area of a building that the tenant shares with other tenants.
But is a window considered a common area? Most likely not, but it depends on the window. The main issue is why is there no coherence between federal, provincial, and municipal elections on campaign signs.
There is no such section for campaign signs in the provincial Municipal Elections Act. According to Elections Ottawa, landlords have complete say over the matter since it’s private property. It’s bizarre that landlords are only obligated to allow tenants to display campaign signs and posters during a federal election.
What does that say about our democracy? When, depending on which election it is, a citizen can show support for a candidate at their home or not. A democracy shouldn’t breed an atmosphere of fear.
The Fex supporter, who was told to take a campaign sign down, is now afraid to come forward, fearing backlash from the landlord. If they want to display a campaign sign they shouldn’t be afraid to do so. This is even more problematic for Centretown dwellers because the majority are tenants.
Municipal elections can be even more important to residents than federal elections, since the decisions made by councillors can have a greater immediate effect on their everyday lives.
Newcomers may not be as well known as incumbents and usually have a harder time making their name known. And that’s where lawn and window signs come in. Campaign signs may seem old school but they are simple, to the point, and get the candidate’s name out there.
So in all fairness, tenants should be able to show support for their candidates. A true democracy requires an informed public. Voters can’t be informed when they don’t know who the candidates are.