---
title: "Barrhaven East candidate's election sign defaced with racist slur"
description: "Jules Ruhinda, a candidate for Ward 24 city councillor, says one of his campaign signs was vandalized with a racist slur over the weekend. Ottawa Police reported 14 election campaign incidents since September 11."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/ottawa-2026/news/barrhaven-east-sign-vandalized-2026-10-14"
last_updated: "2026-10-17T18:36:42.112Z"
---

Jules Ruhinda, a candidate for Ward 24 (Barrhaven East) city councillor, says one of his campaign signs was vandalized with a racist slur over the weekend, the Ottawa Citizen reported on October 13, 2026.

A photo on Ruhinda's social media showed one of his signs defaced with the N-word written in blue marker, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

## What police said

The Ottawa Police Service did not specifically mention Ruhinda's case in an October 13 statement to the Ottawa Citizen, but police said 14 election campaign-related incidents were reported between September 11 and October 8, 2026. Police said updated information from crime analysts would be available later in the week.

The Ottawa Police Hate and Bias Crime Unit handles incidents believed to be motivated by hate or bias. Anyone in Ottawa who sees sign tampering is directed to contact Ottawa Police, as the City says interfering with or damaging an election sign is an offence under the Criminal Code.

## A pattern this election

The Ottawa Citizen reported this is at least the second instance of candidate signs being vandalized with hateful messaging during the 2026 campaign. Earlier in October, Ottawa Police confirmed the Hate and Bias Crime Unit was investigating after signs belonging to [Subhir Uppal](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/subhir-uppal), a councillor candidate in Ward 15 (Kitchissippi), were defaced with swastikas. That report was made to police on October 5, 2026.

Gloucester-Southgate councillor candidate Ahmed Rashid also reported receiving a racist email earlier in the campaign, and reported it to Ottawa Police and the National Council of Canadian Muslims.

## About the Barrhaven East race and what voters can do

[Jules Ruhinda](/on/ottawa-2026/candidates/jules-ruhinda) is seeking the Ward 24 Barrhaven East seat on October 26. All candidates for this ward are listed at [/on/ottawa-2026/races/councillor/ward-24-barrhaven-east](/on/ottawa-2026/races/councillor/ward-24-barrhaven-east). Anyone who sees a defaced election sign should contact Ottawa Police. Advance voting is October 16.

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