As the federal election enters its last phase, controversy is brewing in one Toronto neighbourhood. Dozens of posters reading “Sovereign Nations Have Borders” have been spotted around Leaside. Below the phrase is the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) slogan with a QR code linking to the PPC website.
“They are on every post on Sutherland Dr. [north of Broadway] as well as on Glenvale,” said local resident Marit Skuterud.
Olga Yaroslavtseva has also spotted these posters around the neighbourhood. “I saw a few of these today near Bayview and Eglinton and each and every poster had holes where the word ‘borders’ apparently was,” she commented on social media.
The PPC was founded less than a year ago. Its leader, Maxime Bernier, has announced his desire to use a border fence to discourage immigration. He said, “it’s a question of declaring our sovereignty.” At this point, it’s not known if the signs were posted by the PPC or a sympathetic follower. The PPC has not responded.
Some people commenting about the signs on social media don’t see a problem with the posters while others are perturbed. Skuterud writes, “Seriously?? Is this even allowed? That poster is glued to dozens of posts in North Leaside. I hope whoever put them up is going out with a scrub brush to remove them after the election.”
Meanwhile, another commenter on Twitter said, “Where are you inferring any argument from? Sovereign Nations have Borders. It’s a plain statement of fact. It doesn’t need to be ‘anti’ or ‘pro’ to be factual unless you know of a way a nation can exist without said threshold being present and regulated?”
Where are you inferring any argument from?
Sovereign Nations have Borders.
It’s a plain statement of fact.
It doesn’t need to be ‘anti’ or ‘pro’ to be factual unless you know of a way a nation can exist without said threshold being present and regulated?— Greek.One.Six (@GreekOneSix) October 16, 2019
The controversy around election signs has been through the roof over the last month. In East York, a couple protested an unwanted party sign by creating their own using an Honest Eds-type font that read “Don’t vote for →” placed next to the candidate in question’s sign.
found a bunch of very poorly attached (and very easy to remove) posters for his party on university campus here that said “sovereign nations have borders” and anyway i hate that theres kids buying into this shit to the point where theyll poster for it
— Shameem Nasrabadi (@nasradaddy) August 31, 2019
The PPC poster has been making its way around Toronto since August, though it remains to be seen how many will last until the election. “Found a bunch of very poorly attached (and very easy to remove) posters for his party on university campus here that said “sovereign nations have borders” and anyway I hate that there’s kids buying into this shit to the point where they’ll poster for it,” someone wrote on Twitter.
Election day is Oct. 21.
