Lawn signs pop up as Winnipeg's mayoral race ramps up
In a sure sign that Winnipeg's mayoral race is heating up, candidates' campaign placards have started to dot lawns across the city.
At least three of the nine candidates for mayor were putting up lawn signs and talking to voters on Monday.
"We've got signs that are going up this week in North Kildonan. We've got signs in Garden City, we've got signs in St. Vital, Charleswood, Transcona. We're really all over the place," Brian Bowman told CBC News.
Saturday was the first day that mayoral candidates could post campaign signs in advance of the Oct. 22 civic election.
"These are people who actually have said they will support me, so they're only on the ones of people who will give their support.
Both Wasylycia-Leis and Bowman said their campaigns have received 1,000 requests for lawn signs so far, while Mike Vogiatzakis said at least 500 people have signed up to get his signs.
"It's important to have exposure. It's important for people to see the real polls, and that's the signs that are out and people that are supporting you, and just going out to different communities and being a part of that community," Vogiatzakis said.
But Christopher Adams, a local political analyst, warns that lawn signs are not necessarily an accurate gauge of votes in a given ward.
"People can be deceived if they see a whole bunch of signs in their immediate neighbourhood but it might not reflect the overall ward — or, after the mayor's election, seeing signs in a particular pocket of the city might not reflect what people across the city are thinking," he said.
Officials with Robert-Falcon Ouellette's campaign told CBC News they are still getting his signs printed, while Paula Havixbeck's representatives said their goal is to have 1,000 signs ready by the end of this week.
Gord Steeves's campaign team said they are working on a "new strategy" with regards to election signs.
None of the other mayoral candidates returned calls for comment on Monday.