People behind Regina election attack billboards won't disclose who they are or who's paying the bill
CBC
As Sandra Masters was driving home after an all-candidates mayoral forum on the evening of Oct. 27, she was shocked to see a billboard directly targeting her.
"Tired of this experience, Regina?" asked the billboard, which featured a photo of Masters and two councillors running for re-election, Bob Hawkins and Jason Mancinelli.
The first thing that jumped out to Masters, who's running for her second term in the Nov. 13 election, was the branding on the billboards: an anonymous group called Common Sense Regina.
"Social media has come to the streets," she recalls thinking. "You can put any handle you want and say anything you want."
Another Common Sense-branded billboard featured her image with three words: "Waste. Crime. Dysfunction."
Masters noted that any advertising she or any other candidate displays can't be anonymous; it must say which candidate authorized it.
It's also expensive. Masters said billboards like that can cost thousands of dollars.
As a mayoral candidate, she can't spend more than $76,000 on her campaign. Councillors can spend no more than $12,600.
But, Masters said, the rules don't stop anonymous groups from spending as much as they would like
"I would assume that they would have a candidate for mayor that they're supporting," Masters said in an interview on Nov. 1, though the billboards aren't promoting anyone in particular.
"It feels underhanded. A way to break the rules," she said. "If you're the candidate they're supporting, you get to stay perfectly clean."
After the billboards went up last week, Common Sense Regina put out a news release identifying a spokesperson: Peter McCaffrey. He lives in Alberta, where he runs the Alberta Institute, a libertarian think-tank.
In an interview on Oct. 31, McCaffrey told CBC the recently-formed network of "Common Sense" organizations is focused on municipal politics in 14 communities including Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Regina.
He said the organizations are also libertarian, advocating for limited government focused on core services rather than getting involved in health, education, social services or civil liberties issues. He claims the Regina organization has more than 2,000 supporters, activists and volunteers.
The family of an Edmonton woman who died in Honolulu last year is pushing for Hawaiian authorities to re-open the case.
It was around this time in 2020 that everything changed.
With its emergency shelter beds frequently running at 50 per cent over capacity and demand so great that it's forced to refer some women escaping domestic violence elsewhere, Gillian's Place in St. Catharines will soon be able to offer a broader range of services to more victims of gender-based violence.
The ceiling of the CAW Student Centre at the University of Windsor is decorated by flags of numerous nations — among them, Iran.
Turmoil in Iran, a major disruption in world oil markets, and stratospheric gasoline prices in Canada and beyond. What's racking motorists and governments in 2026 also faced them in 1979, sparked by the Iranian Revolution.
Five decades later, and Thunder Bay's Music World Academy remains a family-run business.
Dalton Dubois of Guelph, Ont., made history at the recent Paris Fashion Week when she became the first transgender model to walk the runway for Chanel Exclusive.
Work is scheduled to begin over the summer at the site of the former Clinton Creek asbestos mine, about 65 kilometres northwest of Dawson City, Yukon.
They may be bitter rivals in the House of Commons, but outside the chamber, recent events may have led to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Prime Minister Mark Carney forging a bond.
Local fans and industry insiders say the province’s move to ban the reselling of event tickets for more than their original value is a step in the right direction, but some say there are still larger issues that need to be addressed.
This First Person column is the experience of Mehdi M. Kashani, who lives in Toronto. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
A very quiet queue has formed in Europe where some of Canada's long-standing, closest allies are seeking shelter under France's small but robust nuclear umbrella.
Friday morning's dusting of snow was no match for the large crowd visiting the Suleman Dawood Masjid in St. John’s for Eid-al-Fitr. A busy service marked the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month.