Canada yesterday voted Liberals as the largest party in parliament – and the Regional Municipality of Durham was quick to ask election candidates to remove all signs within 48 hours (by the evening of Wednesday, October 23).
Led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Liberals won the largest number of seats but fell short of the magic number 170 needed for an outright majority. Liberals had held 178 seats in the last parliament. It appears that there will be a minority government, but it is not yet known who will be the minority partner.
American President Donald Trump was among the first to congratulate Justin Trudeau last night. “Congratulations to @JustinTrudeau on a wonderful and hard fought victory. Canada is well served. I look forward to working with you toward the betterment of both of our countries!” he said in a tweet.
At 3 am last night Liberals had won 157 seats and were leading in two more. Conservatives had won 121 seat, Bloc Quebecois 32 seats and NDP 24 seats, with Greens with 3 seats and an independent winning.
Meanwhile, the regional municipality had its own announcement. “A copy of the Temporary Sign By-Law No. 76-2017 is available online at durham.ca/SignBylaw,” it said in a statement.
“Durham Region’s Sign Recycling Program provides candidates the opportunity to recycle dedicated loads of signs, free of charge. Acceptable signs include all election signs made of corrugated plastic, plastic film or paperboard,” it added.
Signs may be dropped off at Durham’s three waste management facilities; find one near you at durham.ca/WMF.
Wooden stakes and wire mounts must be removed from signs before delivering to the waste management facility. Wooden stakes and wire mounts can also be recycled at the waste management facility.
Candidates who are considering future campaigns are encouraged to keep their signs for reuse.