Ottawa election signs flooded streets overnight as campaign officially launched

More than a dozen mayoral candidates, 85 councillor hopefuls and others running for school board trustee positions flooded Ottawa's streets with campaign signs overnight when September 10 turned into September 11 — the moment candidates became eligible to display them.

Ariel Troster, seeking re-election in Ward 14 Somerset after winning with 61.28 per cent support in 2022, coordinated 76 volunteers to load recycled signs from her 2022 campaign into a car. The team had power-washed graffiti and dirt off the signs during a recent downpour, then used drills to attach wooden stakes. "We got them all squeaky clean," Troster said. "Councillors spend thousands on election signs; it doesn't make sense to throw them away." The signs had been stored in her mother-in-law's Barrhaven basement for four years.

Yvette Ashiri, running for Ward 1 Orléans East-Cumberland, met with approximately 20 campaign volunteers late Thursday evening to review campaign advertisement rules and divide up tasks before the midnight sign blitz. "This is something that I love very much," Ashiri said. "There's a sense of gratitude because you're putting out your name and that takes a lot of effort and it's also a way the community can show their support by putting signs on their lawns." Ashiri had previously run for council in 2020 and 2022 in a different ward and is re-using signs from those earlier campaigns.

Ward 6 Stittsville candidate Marie-Ange Yindaki Ahinful, whose volunteer base is smaller than that of incumbent councillors, relied on friends and family for the overnight effort. "I'm excited. I'm happy with the process of having my name over there in the streets," Ahinful said. "It's going to be very exciting to see my name and also for my kids to see their mom's face outside."

The municipal election is set for October 26, 2026.