Flyer resembling Elections Canada handout appears to be sent from North Vancouver PPC candidate

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A North Vancouver man says he’s concerned, after getting a flyer that appears to be from Elections Canada.

However, upon closer inspection, Grant Bowen realized the handout was not actually from Elections Canada, but rather, from the People’s Party of Canada.

Bowen lives in Lynn Valley and says when he got the flyer in the mail, he assumed it was like any typical handout given in the leadup to the federal election.

“I got the flyer when I got home, it was in the mailbox,” he says. “I assumed it was from Elections Canada. It’s very plain looking, just red and white. No logos. It says ‘Your Vote Matters’.”

Bowen adds he realized something was off as the flyer did not show Jagmeet Singh, the Leader of the federal NDP or provide any information on the party’s platform. He says he didn’t know it was a PPC flyer until he saw a small note at the bottom that said it had been authorized by the PPC candidate in the area.

“My partner looked at it and said ‘where is Jagmeet?’ Because all there is on the back of this flyer is People’s Party, Conservative, Liberal, and Green. There’s no NDP person and I thought that didn’t make any sense. So I looked at it closer and realized nothing said it was from Elections Canada at all.”

A North Vancouver voter says he got this flyer delivered to his door. It LOOKS like it’s from Elections Canada, even says “call us” before providing Elections Canada contact information… but it’s actually from a local PPC Candidate, as noted in a tiny line of text at the bottom pic.twitter.com/VKTsOWvBuI

— Toby Kerr (@Toby_Kerr) October 17, 2019

A small note at the bottom that said it had been authorized by the official agent of the PPC candidate, Azmairnin Jadavji.

Bowen says the flyer offers advice on where to vote and says ‘Call us’ before listing an official number for Elections Canada.

“When we called, it’s Elections Canada. It has the main office address and toll-free numbers, everything on it,” he says, adding he barely noticed the PPC’s candidate on the page. “There was small text on the page, that’s the only way. The fact there was no NDP on it, that was an obvious too.”

He says he’s concerned his neighbours have also received the flyer, adding some may think the flyer is really from Elections Canada.

“I’d be surprised if everyone in our building didn’t get it, everyone in the neighbourhood. It’s just that kind of thing. There’s no address on it,” he says. “I think it’s kind of a cheap way to do this. There’s a lot of people who might not have English as a first language, who would take this as very official. Anyone would.”

The People’s Party of Canada says they stand by the distribution of the flyer and their decision not to include information about the NDP.

“The People’s Party of Canada created marketing materials to better inform North Vancouver residents regarding Party platforms of most interest. The material contains a grid that outlines the People’s Party Platform in conjunction with other direct Party competitors,” says the party in a release.

-With files from Toby Kerr