Kitchener candidate using 're-elect' signs despite not being the incumbent

Kitchener candidate under fire for reusing signs From CTV Kitchener's Heather Senoran: A Kitchener centre candidate is reusing his old campaign signs, but the "re-elect" may be misleading.

A new election campaign, but the same old signs.

The Conservative candidate in Kitchener centre may be a familiar face, but Stephen Woodworth's use of his old signs is under fire.

The signs say "re-elect," but he's not the incumbent. Some residents and fellow candidates say that the signs are misleading.

There's been a lot of back and forth over it, but Woodworth says he's reusing them because he had hundreds left over from the last election.

"It's completely honest to ask (the constituents) to elect me again," he explains.

"There's no better word to say elect me again, than 're-elect.'"

Woodworth was the MP for Kitchener Centre from 2008 until 2015, when he was ousted by Raj Saini.

Saini says using the term is unfair, and says his campaign office has received numerous complaints about the signs.

"If someone is not the incumbent or was an MP in the past, to write 're-elect' is a bit disingenuous," he says.

Saini's signs don't use the term because he's also recycling old signs, a move that both the Liberal and Conservative party candidates say is environmentally and financially smart.

Wooworth says the larger signs he's using, including the stakes and cable ties, can cost almost $10 apiece.

Elections Canada says that there's no law against using the term re-elect, so long as it's true—there are rules against untrue or poor-taste information on signs.