Port Sydney resident Thomas Scully said he was approached by the Liberal Party for a donation but being a pensioner he offered to volunteer instead by putting up Liberal election signs.
He said he put up more than 36 signs throughout Muskoka, but much to his dismay, the bulk of them have been vandalized. He said they’ve been ripped, cut, and run over, and much to his surprise Conservative signs have been put up in their place.
“I haven’t seen anybody do it, but they are replacing the Liberal sign with Conservative signs. I’ve put them up on Hwy 141, County Road 10, in places that are acceptable by the bylaw, and the signs are removed within 24 hours, and in their place, Conservative signs are being put up,” said Scully. “The signs have been run over, brutally cut in half with whatever sharp edge they used… and they’re being replaced by similar size and smaller Conservative signs,” he said, adding that it’s happening in public rather than private properties.
Scully said he has reported the incidents to the Town’s bylaw enforcement officer as well as the OPP, but without a suspect or a photo or video surveillance, they are unable to do anything.
“It’s intimidating; I mean, they’re ripping these signs down violently, running them over at high speeds in big trucks. I’ve got the tire marks and flattened signs,” said Scully, who is appealing to the community that if they see election sign tampering, to report it.
Damaging signs is illegal and can result in criminal charges.
RELATED
Bylaw enforcement issues warnings about illegal election sign placement
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The election signs will be collected up after serving their purpose for a few weeks, damaged or not. I have stronger feelings about the number of cheap looking corrugated plastic signs that local and non-local businesses illegally nail onto posts, trees, and fences along the road. These signs last for years until they fade or get damaged by falling trees, then the blight on our widely-appreciated landscape become even worse eyesores. Then there are those who feel they can show up in town late at night and set up the equally tacky plastic sheets over a wire frame that scream, WE BUY HOUSES (for example) at almost every intersection. I have counted over 20 of them showing up overnight like weeds. The vandals should make themselves useful and rid the town of those signs instead of interfering with the legitimate election process. There is a bylaw against those signs, isn’t there?
I have noted in the past few days, that election lawn signs are being destroyed around sw Ontario not just in Port Sydney. Canadians are frustrated.
For those that maybe missed the article and those posting signs,
https://doppleronline.ca/huntsville/bylaw-enforcement-issues-warnings-about-illegal-election-sign-placement/
Oh my my! A suggestion to consider; has anyone of these commentators below or the campaign agent contacted Elections Canada with their concerns about this picture?
Reply to all who remarked on the destroying of election signs, it could simply come down to the anger, frustration, worry, hurt, and pain people are feeling not only over the election but the massive error the Americans made. This horrible position has been placed through no fault of their own. Canadians simply do not know what to do and are correctly full of anger. They do not know what party can or will look after them. The worry of the unknown.
Eric Driedger: Are you telling us that if something is posted,placed, displayed or constructed somewhere that is in contreavention of some regulation you can look up, then it’s fine to just go ahead an trash it. That’s kinda sad man.
And there’s a lot of stuff out there you can get crazy on.
But maybe it’s better to just leave it alone and others will sort it out.
You gotta have a special sort of mentality to think that trashing stuff is like a sport.
Not yourself I hope, but those who do and have.
I just bet those who have done this never looked up the regs you mention.
Maybe just don’t know where to find them.
I am wondering if election lawn signs make a difference, except creating a point of controversy. I have no doubt he has done his best as our MP, given party policy and politics. I am reluctant to vote for Scott Aitchison if he silently accepts some Conservative mean and antidemocratic behaviour as demonstrated by his own campaign in our constituency. Glossing things over. Shrugging it off is not helping credibility of the Conservatives as a real choice.
People are jumping to the conclusion that it was conservative supporters destroying the signs. Maybe it was just vandalism. And by the way , there is no county road 10 in Muskoka. If the people doing the damage do get caught, what will the penalty be with the liberal catch and release policy on crime?
In accordance with the Ministry of Transportation‘s General Guidelines for Election Signs:
“An Election sign must not be placed upon or adjacent to the right-of-way of a Class 1A Freeway,
Class 1B Staged Freeway and Class 2A Principal Arterial Highway (i.e. Highway 400, Highway
11 and Highway 69).“
Looks to me like the picture in the article is on Highway 11 and shouldn’t have been placed there in the first place. Regardless of the party.
As per this photo –
The shoulder of a road is considered part of the road. Putting signs on the road is maybe not a good idea.
1-2 feet off the road would be a better plan.
I can’t image why ANYONE that wants a free country with the ability to choose and enjoy the natural resources we have here in Canada would even CONSIDER voting LIBERAL – The Liberal government the last ten years have messed up many things, not to mention give away Billons of dollars to ridicules things globally – to which I imagine are money laundering once investigations are completed.
If you want the truth than government (funded and controlled) media has to be stopped – do your research listen to the the postings on social media like X or YouTube – if you are simpling watching the evening news or listening to the radio your getting a false narrative – Canada NEEDS a new government – Liberal party is the same if not worse; consistently gets caught making false statements and has NO policy – we have no clue who Mark Carney is because he won’t disclose his financials (ties to China are scary!) — JOIN the rest of US and WAKE UP.
Trump isn’t our problem – it is OUR current Government – Time for change – cheap shots about Conservatives removing Liberal signs or vice versa are nothing but a distraction – do some research – look at Canada’s GDP over the last ten years, look at Carney’s history – don’t be fooled….
Today is April 11, and the gentleman from Port Sydney informed us on April 8th about the apparent removal of Liberal signs by Conservative supporters. STILL no response from the conservative candidate. For me, that says it all! But is in keeping with PP’s very belated jump onto the bandwagon condemning Trump’s action and supporting Canadian unity! Guess who I’ll be voting for!
If anyone is thinking of voting PC, this is an example of what they would do if they win: run us over and impose their petty and violent ways on all of us! This is the road to dictatorship, by destroying the democracy and civility of elections. Lets all get out and vote! I still believe Canada has more pro-democracy people than their counterparts South of the boarder. Elections will tell!
This reminds me of a time eons ago when I volunteered to put up signs for my local candidate who was not a Conservative. Off I went and signed around my area including several prominent spots around HWY 11. I was actually finishing nailing up a sign on southbound 11 somewhat south and across the road from a location where I had signed on the northbound side when I spotted two men nailing up a Conservative sign where I had put up a sign for the party member of my choice.
I drove over and asked these persons -politely- what was going on and was told that they were just rectifying the situation and pointed out where they had left my sign and told me I could put it up somewhere else!
I picked up my sign and informed my party management of the episode. What transpired there after I have no idea, but the Conservative signs remained and I found other locations for my signs.
So, it seems that this habit has been inbred into the party members and the trend continues. I will always find it difficult to vote conservative no matter how attractive the candidate might be.
Well, we’re now seeing who PP base supporters really are…petty, malicious and ignorant. I can’t be associated with this juvenile behavior and am switching to the Liberals. I’ve just put my sign order in.
The Conservative campaign office should be keeping track of who is posting their signs. Can’t the OPP check on who has taken the newly posted ones replacing the Liberal ones?
Thank you Huntsville Doppler for publishing this story. I was very surprised and dismayed at the response I received from my community in Port Sydney as I never dreamed we would be aligning with what is happening South of our border.
This isn’t just vandalism—it’s a reflection of what’s gone wrong in our politics. When a senior citizen volunteers his time, peacefully puts up election signs, and those signs are deliberately run over, slashed, and replaced with Conservative ones? That’s not just disrespect—it’s intimidation. And if anyone is defending that, turning a blind eye, or laughing it off, we need to take a hard look at what kind of political culture we’re enabling in our own backyard.
I’ve been on the receiving end of this same kind of madness, and all it’s done is strengthen my resolve to vote Liberal and support Geordie Sabbagh—because we need real plans, not protests. Respecting democracy means respecting each other, even when we disagree. If a campaign can’t lead with that, it’s not leadership—it’s just noise.
And let’s be honest: our demographics have changed. We are a more diverse, engaged, and forward-looking community than we were a generation ago. The old boys’ blue club is no longer the automatic choice for Parry Sound–Muskoka. People are thinking differently now—because we have to.
If you have to destroy a sign to make your point, maybe you didn’t have one to begin with. 💥
Maybe there was the chance that the recent destruction of political signs is just the luck of the draw. Some feel that way. But since this destruction is focused on a specific party, the chance disappears that it is across the board. It is specific. That’s sad.
Never felt I could be much of a Liberal and I’m not. But I feel Muskoka/Parry Sound has become so saturated with this ‘populous PC’ mindset lately, that the essence of Democracy is being swept aside and replaced with hollow rhetoric.
The mindset of ‘the donald’. If you disagree with something, tear it up, run it down, push it over, upset and disfigure it in some way. Smallminded and hopefully at odds with the people whose sigs go undamaged. I would not want to know that individuals who would trample the democratic process were supporters of mine. Somewhat akin to the thought process of those who destroy toilets!
Would like to see an opinion from the owners of the undamaged signs. How are you feeling about this?
Tearing down Liberal signs is really bad optics for the Conservative MP. The anger isn’t helping anyone and it won’t influence anyone’s opinion either. I am voting for our fine Liberal candidate, Geordie, even if I have to wade through a sea of Conservative signs. However, I won’t be knocking them down just ignoring them.
Sad and pathetic. I wish I didn’t have to live with these degenerates. Probably the exact same trucks flying the F Trudeau flags. They should all be charged with criminal offences. People just don’t seem to have any respect any more. In many cases, common courtesy and respect are not being taught to children – certainly not by example. This will change our society for the worse.
It’s as if MAGA has come to Muskoka. Do we really want these people to govern??
PP and his MAGA supporters are scared. They should be.