Election Signage:

Question: Can a landlord in Ontario stop me, as a tenant, from putting an election campaign sign or poster on my rental unit premises?

Answer: In Ontario, a paralegal at Forseti Legal Services can help if your landlord is restricting your election signage, because you generally have the right to display election advertising posters on the premises covered by your lease, and a landlord cannot prohibit it with very few exceptions.   The Canada Elections Act protects tenants from sign bans, including under Canada Elections Act, S.C. 2000, c. 9, s. 322, while landlords may only impose reasonable limits on size or type and may restrict posters in common areas rather than inside your rented unit.   If you want to keep your sign up or respond to a restriction letter or notice, contact Forseti Legal Services at (705) 806-7577 to review your lease terms and next steps across Ontario.

Tenants Have a Right to Use a Sign to Promote an Election Candidate

In Canada, as a free and democratic society, all persons may choose to support a particular candidate in an election; and, with very few exceptions, post signage in promotion of a preferred candidate upon the premises that such persons occupy.  This right expressly includes persons occupying rented premises; and accordingly, a landlord is forbidden from restricting the posting of election signs by a tenant.

The Law

The Canada Elections Act, S.C. 2000, Chapter 9 prescribes the protection provided to a tenant who wishes to advertise or promote a favoured candidate.  Specifically, the Canada Elections Act states:

Conclusion

A landlord may restrict election posters or signs to a reasonable size.  Additionally, a tenant holds the right to place a poster or sign only within the rental unit; and accordingly, a landlord may forbid posters or signs from being placed upon areas beyond the rental unit occupied by the tenant.