Signs for candidate Amanda Coombs have been stolen and damaged in Ward 7 Humber River-Black Creek.

One of her volunteers has been going around the Jane Street and Sheppard Avenue West intersection collecting Coombs’ signs at night to put them back up the next morning to avoid them going missing. 

The Green Line got an email from one of Coombs’ campaign volunteers, Louise Weniger, because they noticed their signs were being damaged and stolen from various public spaces.

Weniger has documented photos, timestamps and locations of where the signs were tampered with. According to her documentation, the photos show that Coombs is the only candidate whose signs are being damaged.

She said signage is “crucial” for any candidate during an election.

“The visibility is important; that’s what the signs are for, to make your candidate visible and known. So when people take down the signs, that takes away from that, and we have to go to the effort of putting signs back up and having signs printed,” she said. “It [has a] cost, both financially and in terms of labour.”

Weniger shared that they weren’t sure how to report the incidents because they didn’t know who was damaging the signs and didn’t know what could be done in the short time signs are up before election day. However, if they knew where to go, they would report the damaged signs.

So, we looked into what candidates can do to report sign damage and how other Torontonians can report sign tampering or signs that are noncompliant with the City’s election sign rules.

What you need to know about sign tampering and noncompliance

• The City of Toronto says, “Suspected theft or intentional damage to election signs is a police matter and should be reported to the Toronto Police Service.”
  • To report any of the following, visit the Toronto Police Service’s online reporting portal.
    • An election sign is damaged
    • An election sign appears to have been stolen
    • An election sign has been vandalized
    • Multiple election signs are damaged or missing
    • An election sign has been removed without authorization
• Residents can contact 311 to report election signs that may not comply with the City’s election sign rules.
  • Some rules include:
    • Signs can’t be attached to trees
    • Signs can’t contain the City of Toronto logo
    • Obstruct visibility or block sightlines for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists
    • Signs can’t be displayed within 0.6 metres of either side of a sidewalk
    • Can’t be adjacent to a voting place, City park or a facility that is owned or operated by the City
  • If you call to report, have this information ready:
    • The name of the candidate or the third-party advertiser displaying the election sign
    • The address or location of the sign
    • Description of specific landmarks if the address of the sign cannot be provided
    • The reason for the complaint
• Election signs in Toronto must comply with Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 693, Article II, Election Signs. The bylaw sets rules for election signs on public and private property, including where signs may be placed and when they must be removed.
  • Election signs on private property require the property owner or occupant’s consent. Property owners may remove election signs displayed on their property without their consent.
  • The City may remove election signs placed contrary to the bylaw.
  • You could actually be fined $200 to $300 for not following the City’s election sign rules. To learn more about the fines, visit the City of Toronto’s website.

If you would like to learn more about election sign rules, visit the City of Toronto’s website and if you’d like to catch up on the election, visit our Action Journey page.