Do you shower before work in the morning? Then frig off, yuppie scum! 

According to Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton, this province supports people who shower at night, when there's real dirt to scrub from their sun-soaked bodies after a long day of hard work in the mines... or wherever it is he thinks the unwashed masses make their money.

"Our government is standing with hardworking people... not those who want to 'phase out' good blue-collar jobs," tweeted McNaughton to that effect on Tuesday evening in an apparent pre-election missive on behalf of the ruling PC party. 

"We know Ontario is built by those who shower at the end of the day, not the start."

Um, what?

Are you actually trying to divide Ontario based on when people shower? I’m sorry, when does someone who inherited his daddy’s sticker business and political contacts shower at his cottage?

— Gerald McKinley (@GeraldMckinley) April 13, 2022

Like... what?

It’s so weird. I can’t believe they are pitting folks who shower in the morning against those who shower in the evening.

I mean, depending on how my day is going, sometimes I shower IN THE AFTERNOON. Who should I vote for? Who is supporting my interests?

— Beth Levy (@Beth_Levy66) April 13, 2022

It would appear as though the province's Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development was trying to court "blue collar" votes for his party ahead of the 2022 Ontario general election in June.

This type of appeal isn't unusual for the provincial PC party; Ontario Premier Doug Ford has long geared his messaging toward working class people who perform manual labour (or, as he calls them, "hard workin' folks.") 

What's weird is the whole shower thing. 

I feel bad about showering in the morning and therefore not building Ontario. Is there some sort of evening/weekend/holiday remediation program I can sign up for to help offset my morning shower destruction of the province?

— Jenny Lee Shee (@jennyleeshee) April 12, 2022

At best, McNaughton is suggesting that his party (through its recently-implemented Working for Workers Act) wants to protect labourers from evil, white-collared executives who might take advantage of them.

At worst, he's suggesting that members of the working class don't shower in the morning.

That's not only weird, it's offensive to working class employees, some of whom shower in the morning and after work, or just in the morning, or many times a day, or every other day, or even less, or even more, because showering is a personal habit — not a political statement.

What in the hell is @MonteMcNaughton saying here?! So because I shower in the morning I’m not contributing to Ontario? This is tone deaf and dangerous gaslighting of hardworking Ontario residents. #onelxn #votethemout #mustdobetter #bad pic.twitter.com/ENdWjg0OSB

— Jason Veltri🏳️‍🌈 (@Jason_Veltri) April 13, 2022

McNaughton's tweet, published just after 6:30 p.m. on April 12, has attracted hundreds of comments, but only 33 likes. Responses to the message make it clear why that is.

Huh? Why are you thinking about Ontarian’s in their showers? This is a weird tweet. I don’t think you thought this one through. It’s a bit condescending even for you. #VoteFordOut2022 #VoteThemAllOut2022

— S (@hudsyboy) April 13, 2022

Some people are mocking the minister, who made $165,851 last year and almost definitely showers before putting on his suits to attend Queen's Park.

"Says the dude who showers in the early afternoon, upon waking for his hour long meeting, to receive his six figure salary, complete with gold plated pension and healthcare," replied one Twitter user.

"Can you please post your resume of employment from high school onwards? Just curious," wrote another.

Bro you’re a politician, whose parents owned a shopping centre and went to business school, you’re hands are as soft as butter don’t go around acting like you’re covered in saw dust at the end of the day, closest you come is to sawdust cologne. #onpoli https://t.co/vA9VXv7XMJ

— Joe Lauria (@Josephlauria) April 13, 2022

Others are sharing their own shower habits to challenge the minister and show how ridiculous they think his words sound.

"Weird, because my mechanic husband showers every morning and then also every night. So he showers at the start of the day. Shows me how much you know about the people that you pretend to support then doesn't it?" wrote one.

"Showered in the morning and evening during my 35 years in my trade. What realistically does showering have anything to do with anything?" wrote another.

Uhhh… I shower at 3:45 am when my alarm goes off. Does that mean I don’t matter to the provincial government? I mean… it’s certainly felt that way for some time… but is this my confirmation? We’re now separating our political population by showering habits? 2022, man…

— Jay Smith (@jay991ckxs) April 13, 2022

Some people are all like "stay out of our bathrooms, big brother!" while others are like "dude... stop," but all seem to agree that McNaughton is wrong for trying to stoke political division between people in Ontario based on when in the day they tend to bathe.

"How long before we see references to 'morning-showering downtown elites' in the pages of the Toronto Sun?" joked one Twitter user.

A better question is: How much more of this weirdness are we going to see before Ontarians head to the polls on June 2? And how many more pages are the PCs going to take out of Team Trump's playbook?