City reminds candidates, citizens to remove byelection signs by Thursday
Posted June 27, 2023 11:32 am.
Last Updated June 27, 2023 11:36 am.
A victorious Olivia Chow isn’t the only person with their work cut out for them in the aftermath of Monday night’s mayoral byelection.
Fringe candidate Xiao Hua Gong also has a colossal task at hand — removing the omnipresent signs his team plastered throughout the city in a failed bid to improve his chances at the polls.
Despite the prodigious efforts to boost his name recognition, Gong finished with just 0.41 per cent of the vote on Monday.
Gong may not sit in the mayor’s chair, but he still has a chance to clean up Toronto, and he’ll have to do so in a hurry.
The City is reminding all property owners, residents and candidates that they’re responsible for removing and disposing of all byelection signs displayed on private and public property by Thursday, June 29.
“Candidates will be notified if signs are removed by the City and provided information on when and where the signs can be retrieved from,” Toronto’s website states. “Any signs not retrieved may be recycled, destroyed or disposed of by the City.”
In the end, Gong’s overwhelming sign strategy may not have swayed eligible voters, but it did make an impression on Toronto’s youth.
Gong finished a close second (21 per cent) behind Chow (23.4 per cent) among over 13,000 elementary and secondary students who participated in Student Vote Toronto on Monday night.
How and where to get rid of byelection signs
The signs can be taken to select City Drop-Off Depots for recycling to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and should not be placed in the Blue Bin (recycling), the City said.
The City says used and surplus election signs are being accepted for proper disposal at the following Drop-Off Depot locations until July 30:
• Disco Drop-Off Depot, 120 Disco Rd.
• Commissioners Drop-Off Depot, 400 Commissioners St.
• Dufferin Drop-Off Depot, 35 Vanley Cres.
• Ingram Drop-Off Depot, 50 Ingram Dr.
• Victoria Park Drop-Off Depot, 3350 Victoria Park Ave.
More details can be found here.