Liberals’ Sonia Sidhu reports ‘hundreds’ of signs stolen or vandalized as candidate conflict dominates campaign

Vandalism and theft of campaign signs in Brampton has further tarnished the 2019 federal election in Peel.

On Monday, Brampton South incumbent Sonia Sidhu took to Twitter to complain about her lawn signs either being damaged or disappearing altogether. The Liberal MP’s troubles follow other acts of sabotage in the region, including the racist vandalism of NDP campaign material last week and an unspecified threat against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his visit to Mississauga.

A screenshot of a video posted by Sonia Sidhu, showing the removal of a campaign sign

In her Twitter post, Sidhu said “hundreds” of her signs had been affected. She posted a video, seemingly from a residential security camera, that showed two people taking signs and placing them in the trunk of a car.

The tweet included a swipe at her political opponents, apparently blaming them for the theft. “I am committed to running a positive campaign,” Sidhu wrote. “I lived up to that promise. My opponents have not. I am not angry, I am just disappointed.”

“I didn’t know if I should post a picture on social media, but enough is enough,” Sidhu added in a follow-up tweet. “I’m fighting for #BramptonSouth. I’m going to keep fighting. To my opponents: signs don’t vote, people do. #GoKnockDoors.”

On Tuesday, the day after posting her original tweet, Sidhu shared a photograph of dozens of her signs at a dumpster behind a condo complex. The location, Sidhu claimed, is “suspiciously” close to the campaign headquarters of one of her opponents, though she did not say which.

Last week, The Pointer reported that NDP candidates Navjit Kaur (Brampton West) and Saranjit Singh (Brampton East) had been subject to hateful graffiti. The “n” word was scrawled across one of Singh’s signs, while a demand that Kaur “take off” her head covering was written on one of her own signs.

More recently still, a Liberal campaign rally in Mississauga was delayed by an hour and a half Saturday following a threat directed at Justin Trudeau. The rally went ahead as planned, but Trudeau’s wife withdrew from the lineup and the Liberal leader wore a bulletproof vest under his shirt and was flanked by tactical security.

Not unique to Mississauga or Brampton, acts of vandalism are a potential symptom of a larger problem. In place of exciting new policy, conflict and controversy between candidates themselves have become the focus of the campaign.

At the beginning of the official campaign period, Trudeau’s history and moral character became the subject of debate as images and videos of him wearing blackface and brownface were revealed by Time Magazine and Global News. The scandal prompted the leader to make a public apology and dominated days of news coverage. Later, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer came under fire when a Globe and Mail story found no evidence to support his claim that he previously worked as an insurance broker. Scheer also came under scrutiny for his dual citizenship.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks in Mississauga on October 12.

Sensational stories have led the news agenda on more nights than one, as historical comments by candidates on gay marriage and abortion overshadow current policies about tax credits.

“Lots of elections are fought on grounds [not dealing with] ideals — and this is a great example,” Barry Kay, associate professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University, told The Pointer. “That’s why the Liberals and Conservatives haven’t really gone up or down in the polls. They were close at the beginning and they’re close now across the country. The Conservatives have gone after the Liberals and the Liberals have gone after the Conservatives, with neither side really talking about high-minded concepts or visions of the future. That’s part of the reason they weren’t successful in the early parts of the campaign and that’s why now the Bloc are rising in Quebec and the NDP is rising in parts of English Canada.”

Last week, Ipsos Public Affairs CEO Darrell Bricker echoed this view to The Hill Times, saying the current election was “probably in the top quadrant” of dirtiest elections in recent history.

Despite the number of lawn signs littering the country, Kay said their effect on the election result will be minimal. He called acts of theft and vandalism mundane and “petty.”

“In general, I think it is done by a group of people who get really jumped up, thinking their side has to win the election and that one or two lawn signs will make a difference,” Kay added. “They think signs being available or not available might change people’s votes. It might have some impact, but I really don’t think it’s a big impact.”

And if a competing campaign is directly responsible, he said, stealing signs would be a poor tactic.

“If you’re going to start taking down other people’s signs, they’re going to start taking down your signs” Kay continued. “As a result, it’s kind of mutually assured destruction.”

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Twitter: @isaaccallan