toronto election signs

Toronto has two days to remove election signs and people are singling out Gong

Now that the people of Toronto have the city's new mayor elected, our streets are set to look a whole lot emptier, as candidates and residents have been given a strict deadline to get rid of all election signage — which may prove particularly difficult for one candidate in particular.

The city issued a release Tuesday morning reminding everyone to kindly dispose of any campaign billboards they'd installed on private or public property, and to do so at a designated City Drop-Off Depot, not in the regular trash or recycling.

This leaves us wondering if Xiao Hua Gong, who turned himself into primo meme fodder by plastering his face absolutely everywhere in the weeks leading up to election night, will be able to hit the June 29 cutoff to take down his posters.

The businessman candidate, who even bought out space on the bigscreens at Yonge-Dundas square, seemed to spare no expense with his campaign, with people estimating he had tens of thousands of placards with his likeness (and his motto, "here to rescue Toronto") scattered around the city.

Fifteen years after immigrating to Canada from China in 2002, the former theatre director was arrested and charged for fraud and other offenses by the Ontario Securities Commission, and eventually had to fork over more than $60 million for an alleged multi-national pyramid scheme and money-laundering operation.

Even with his shady past, Gong's signs were quite the hit on social media, though not at the actual polls on Monday, where he came in 11th place with 0.41 per cent of votes.

Of course, many online are joking about the fact that with just shy of 3,000 ballots cast for him in total, the candidate's signs far exceeded his votes.

Anyone with election signs to dispose of is asked to do so in the next two days at 120 Disco Road, 400 Commissioners Street, 35 Vanley Crescent, 50 Ingram Drive or 3350 Victoria Park Avenue.

Lead photo by

Jack Landau


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