Election signs in Campbell River have been vandalized during the past two days, some in ways clearly meant to send a message.
On Saturday morning, signs along Jubilee Parkway for federal Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn were found knocked down, punched through, and ripped. One large sign was cut in a way to spell out the letters F and U.
Green Party candidate Jessica Wegg also had all her signs broken and pulled out of the ground nearby, at the intersection with Highway 19A, in front of the “Welcome to Campbell River” sign.
People’s Party of Canada signs have also been affected. NDP and Liberal signs appear to have been untouched. Similar incidents have also been reported elsewhere in the North Island-Powell River riding, including Comox.
UPDATE 2025-03-30 2:15 pm: Green Party and Conservative Party signs were again vandalized sometime Saturday night or early Sunday morning (image below).
“This is just wrong. If people want to have their say, we hope they get out and vote, not resort to vandalism,” said a spokesperson for the NDP campaign.
Tampering with election signs is a criminal offence under the Criminal Code of Canada and the Elections Act, and can carry penalties of up to two years in prison.
There are five candidates running in the North Island-Powell River riding, which covers from Port Hardy south to northeast Courtenay, with the junction of the Tsolum and Puntledge Rivers as the southern boundary. It also extends east to include Comox and Powell River.
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