CANMORE – Locals tired of seeing municipal election signs on Town of Canmore property every four years could be getting some good news.
Town of Canmore staff were directed by council to look at options on regulating or managing election signs, giving staff until Dec. 31, 2022, to return with a report.
The lengthy timeframe allows staff to look at potential options, with a change in policy not needed until a few months before the 2025 municipal election.
Coun. Joanna McCallum noted it was her third time bringing the motion forward – the last one having been defeated in January 2018 – and stressed the environmental importance held by many community members is in conflict with the making and placing of signs.
“As we saw in the most recent municipal campaign, it became inherently clear to the community and to many who have spoken to this that old-fashioned electioneering like wasteful signs proliferated all of our public property is no longer appropriate in our community,” she said. “I know in the past the timing when I have brought it forward has been questioned, mostly by the public and not my colleagues, but if we say we’re an environmentally forward-thinking community and we are engaged, that old fashioned style of electioneering isn’t really necessary.
“It provides a barrier for those running in terms of the financing because they’re very expensive. As we saw in this last election, they have very little impact. We saw candidates who had tons of signs not make it in the top 10, we saw candidates with tons of signs who made it in the top six. … The sign thing is pointless. We are a tourist community and it is actually quite offensive to the eyeball for people to come into the community to see them proliferate all over the place to be found.”
Both McCallum and Mayor Sean Krausert added that it is not uncommon to still find signs throughout the community, with Krausert saying he’s recovered his from the Bow River and forest.
“It distracts you from the real issue of getting out and talking to people,” he said.
As technology has evolved, more candidates are relying on a mixture of door-knocking and talking with residents to more reliance on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and websites to reach out to voters.
Mail campaigns and newspaper advertisements continued to be important in the last municipal election, but it became common to see municipal property covered in election signs.
“We actually saw in this last election it was a barrier to those who couldn’t afford to participate in ordering signs and there are many ways that are free or practically free to get your name out,” Krausert said. “I would always be supportive to have signs on private property. That’s a real sign of democracy and a statement. … Me putting a sign out on Bow Valley Trail says nothing more than I know how to put a sign out on Bow Valley Trail. My view has changed over the last 10 years as social media has become more prevalent. The proliferation has got worse. Quite frankly, it’s a bother from a candidate’s point of view.”
McCallum said the 80 signs she used for the past election had been reused from the 2010 and 2013 municipal elections. She added they were only on private property and she recycled them because she decided it would be her last council term, but “the energy to make them in the first place is actually not awesome from an environmental perspective.”
Coun. Tanya Foubert added her support for helping the environment, but was cautious of impacting part of the democratic process. She noted Jyn San Miguel, who placed eighth in voting, used homemade signs that stood out and drew residents to learn more about him.
“From a sustainability side, it’s a one-off use of plastic that could be thrown away or reused. … What trumps that for me is free, fair and open democratic processes,” she said. “I think that when we remove the ability of candidates in elections to put their names out in this formula, even though it may be antiquated, is it an appropriate use of our regulatory powers?”
With more than a year for staff to bring options forward for council, Krausert said council can look forward to discussing options well before the next municipal election.
“We’re not really making a decision about signage, but we’re inviting those options to come to us. Depending on what happens, there may or may not be a change to the land use bylaw, which would then trigger a public hearing,” he said. “This is simply getting on the table for administration to come back to us in the next year.”
Correction: The print edition of this article incorrectly stated Coun. Joanna McCallum ordered 80 signs in the 2021 election. The signs were from the 2010 and 2013 municipal elections and were reused for the 2017 and 2021 municipal election. The Outlook apologizes for the error.
