'Peegate' memes flood Twitter after Tory candidate caught urinating in mug
Haydn Watters | CBC News | Posted: September 7, 2015 7:59 PM | Last Updated: September 7, 2015
Conservative spokesman says Jerry Bance no longer a candidate for Toronto riding
Jerry Bance, the service technician and now-former Conservative candidate caught peeing into a mug three years ago, is the latest target of federal election-based online ridicule. The internet was quick to mock Bance's actions after hidden camera pictures of one of his house calls resurfaced online Sunday evening.
The footage, part of a 2012 episode of CBC's investigative show Marketplace, showed Bance peeing into a coffee cup before dumping the contents into the sink and rinsing it out. CBC News received a tip late Sunday evening that the service technician in the footage was Bance.
- Jerry Bance, Conservative caught peeing in mug, no longer candidate, party says
- Marketplace: When The Repairman Knocks
A Conservative spokesman confirmed to CBC News Monday morning that Bance would no longer be the candidate for the Toronto-area riding of Scarborough–Rouge Park, saying he was dropped for not being truthful during the screening process, the party said.
But social media were already strewn with a steady stream of urine-inspired jokes. #peegate has been trending on Twitter in Canada since the story broke.
The mug that Bance grabbed from the sink and then urinated in got a lot of online love.
Of course, the mug got its own Twitter account.
The account was made less than an hour after CBC News broke the story Sunday evening.
...and 'Bance' became its very own verb.
The incident happened back in 2012.
This Twitter user suggested that common serviceman etiquette has been forgotten in the three years since it happened.
Some of this campaign's most notable memes were trotted out, with a pee-induced spin.
There were homages to the enthusiastic Harper hand gestures (also known as the finger pinch) and the name submissions for Harper's campaign plane.
And with any meme-laden moment during this campaign, there was the requisite appearance by the angry old Conservative supporter... and Mike Duffy.
Some used the opportunity to question the vetting process for federal election candidates.
There have been a rash of political candidates across all parties who have been disciplined or dropped off the ballot entirely for their past bad behaviour that is traceable online.
Calgary Liberal candidate Ala Buzreba stepped down after offensive tweets she made as a teenage resurfaced online. Nova Scotia NDP candidate Morgan Wheeldon resigned after a screen grab of a Facebook post he made about Israel were circulated.
In addition to Bance, the Conservatives also dropped Tim Dutaud as a candidate on Monday. Dutaud, who was running in the Toronto-Danforth riding, was found starring in offensive and embarrassing online videos.