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

Bryan May says his run signs are being stolen oregon vandalized astatine a complaint he's ne'er seen before.

The Liberal incumbent successful Cambridge, May has tally successful each predetermination since 2011. This clip around, helium says hundreds of his signs person been damaged oregon taken, costing the run thousands of dollars.

"We person precise dedicated volunteers who get retired and enactment retired signs and to spot their vexation erstwhile the precise adjacent day, the signs that they enactment retired are missing oregon damaged." May told CBC News.

"And I'm not pointing fingers straight astatine immoderate peculiar campaign. I'm surely hopeful it's not the campaigns and I don't deliberation it's a ample swath of constituents, but it is elector suppression. It is intimidation."

He said harm ranges from idiosyncratic slicing signs successful fractional to spray coating slogans and hateful messages connected the signs.

He says each election, campaign signs go a target, but "this is different."

"This is incredibly ramped up and getting to the constituent wherever we're putting signs retired successful the evening and by greeting they're gone," helium said.

Const. Brad Hickey, a nationalist accusation serviceman with the Waterloo Regional Police Service, confirmed officers are investigating an attempted theft and harm to predetermination signs successful Cambridge.

"Police would similar to punctual the nationalist that mischief nether $5,000 whitethorn use erstwhile idiosyncratic damages, destroys, oregon defaces an predetermination sign. Theft nether $5,000 whitethorn use erstwhile idiosyncratic steals an predetermination sign, arsenic they are considered idiosyncratic spot nether the Criminal Code," Hickey said successful an email to CBC News.

"Waterloo determination constabulary promote members of the nationalist to study immoderate suspicious enactment involving predetermination signs astatine the clip of the incident."

Other campaigns seeing damage, thefts

CBC K-W reached retired to each run successful Waterloo portion and Guelph to inquire if they're besides experiencing vandalism oregon stolen signs.

David de Weerdt, the run manager for Guelph Green campaigner Anne-Marie Zajdlik, says they've seen "many acts of vandalism" to their signs. Steve Dyck, a unpaid with the campaign, says he's gone retired to enactment caller signs retired lone to person different signs knocked down portion he's inactive successful the area.

Dyck says helium spoke to a teen who it appeared had knocked implicit the motion connected purpose.

"I explained that helium needed enactment the motion backmost up," Dyck said successful an email. "I spoke with the younker explaining that I would record a ailment if they did not assistance enactment the motion backmost up."

Guelph Liberal campaigner Dominique O'Rourke's run sent an email saying they're alert of an escalation of signs being damaged oregon removed successful the city.

"All Canadians person the state to amusement their enactment for immoderate candidate. Attempts by immoderate to region oregon vandalize run signs volition not deter our campaign. We are alert of immoderate instances wherever residents person video footage and person reported stolen signs to the police," the email from the run said, adding radical who person had signs stolen tin scope retired to get a replacement.

No Conservative campaigns responded to the petition for comment, but Bob Coole, run manager for Conservative campaigner Gurvir Khaira, told the quality website Guelph Today that their run signs are getting damaged, either by idiosyncratic kicking oregon hitting them, oregon successful different ways.

"Some of the signs are inactive good, but the large signs, the ink signs, they've been pouring a liquid connected it and it's taking the overgarment close disconnected of them," Coole told the website.

Signs seized nether Guelph bylaw

In Guelph, immoderate of the missing signs whitethorn beryllium due to the fact that the campaigns person contravened the city's motion bylaw.

Kyle Hayward, a communications serviceman for the city, said astir 100 complaints had been filed arsenic of April 15 astir signs being placed successful locations wherever they shouldn't be.

That resulted successful 191 national predetermination signs being seized, oregon removed, by metropolis workers for being successful usurpation of the bylaw.

Cambridge bylaw besides had 1 study of a stolen oregon damaged predetermination sign. Kitchener and Waterloo did not person immoderate reports.

Scott Tracey, the spokesperson for constabulary successful Guelph, said they've had 1 study of stolen and vandalized signs.

"A nonmigratory of Forest Hill Drive, which is successful the Old University neighborhood, reported that a motion was stolen from his tract and determination were 3 young males progressive successful that. And the complainant advised that they besides knocked implicit different motion belonging to the aforesaid enactment conscionable astir the corner," Tracey said.

He noted run signs "are nary antithetic than immoderate different backstage property" and radical tin beryllium charged with removing them oregon damaging them.

Tracey added anyone who witnesses signs being stolen oregon damaged to study it to police.

"It tin beryllium hard because, of course, we each spot radical retired putting up signs, taking down signs, moving signs connected behalf of campaigns. So it tin beryllium hard to cognize whether the idiosyncratic is doing truthful legitimately oregon not," Tracey said.

"If they're damaging signs, they're breaking them oregon thing of that nature, past surely we would privation to beryllium made alert of that due to the fact that that surely is mischief."

Volunteers told to 'be respectful,' NDP campaigner says

Rosalind Horne, the communications manager for Kitchener Centre Green campaigner Mike Morrice, said they've enactment retired much than 2,000 signs and astir 10 person gone "missing" though it's unclear why. They haven't had immoderate reports of deliberate damage.

Waterloo NDP campaigner Héline Chow says she's lone had upwind harm to her signs, but she denounced immoderate enactment to bargain oregon vandalize anyone's signs.

"Sorry to perceive different campaigns are struggling with this contented though. I deliberation I talk for each the candidates erstwhile I accidental we would lone similar to triumph just and quadrate not with immoderate tampering of each other's materials and signs," Chow said successful an email to CBC News.

"When we bid our volunteers, we archer them explicitly to beryllium respectful of different campaign's materials and to marque definite they are not moved oregon damaged successful immoderate way."

May says erstwhile radical person signs stolen disconnected their lawns, helium gets 1 of 2 responses.

One is that the radical inquire him not to regenerate the sign, due to the fact that they're disquieted astir radical coming onto their property.

The different is that radical archer his volunteers to regenerate it arsenic soon arsenic they can.

But ultimately, May wishes radical who whitethorn instrumentality oregon harm a motion due to the fact that they don't hold with him would beryllium up for a speech with him instead.

"Criticism is thing that comes with the territory. People's opinions substance … I perceive to the questions that radical person astir not conscionable what we've done successful the past, but what are we going to bash moving forward," helium said.

"The individuals that are doing this person 1 extremity and that is to marque my sanction little prevalent successful the assemblage truthful that people, maybe, successful their brains think, 'Oh, I'm going to ballot for the idiosyncratic who has the astir signs.' I can't explicate it. I don't recognize the mentality."

Voters spell to the polls connected April 28.