With Toronto's mayoral by-election less than three weeks away, it's safe to say we've officially entered that phase of the electoral cycle when election signs begin springing up like mushrooms in hopes of swaying undecided voters. 

For municipal elections, signs can be displayed as early as 25 days prior to election day, meaning you've probably noticed more and more signs being propped up during the past week. 

Although this traditional method of campaigning has lost some traction in the face of social media, one controversial candidate has garnered lots of criticism for going all-in on this form of promotion. 

A recent Reddit thread picked up lots of reactions after a photo showed a stream of election signs (placed at a short distance from one another) for mayoral candidate and businessman, Gong Xiao Hua. 

This feels excessive (there ended up being about 10-12 in this short stretch of road and then more further up the road)
by u/Bre-nt in toronto

"This feels excessive (there ended up being about 10-12 in this short stretch of road and then more further up the road)," the original poster wrote. "I understand campaigning but this feels excessive and does the opposite than the intended purpose for me personally."

Plenty of other users noted that they've also noticed streams of the same signs along major roads in Toronto, some of which are inconveniently placed. 

"His signs actually blocks my sight for oncoming traffic on my intersection when I want to make a left turn. They are actually a road hazard," one person chimed in. 

"Drove up Leslie and then turned onto Sheppard yesterday...his signs are every few metres all through the whole stretch...must've saw over a hundred," another comment reads. 

"I was in Scarborough the other day too, I saw one of these signs literally every three feet," a user said. 

"We really need to abolish this campaign sign bullshit. They're a complete eye sore for months before an election and create so much garbage afterwards," another person noted. 

A quick Google search of the candidate's name, who is also known as Edward Gong, prompts several articles about a case in which he was accused of running a massive pyramid scheme from Canada. 

The investigation revolved around suspicious funds deposited in New Zealand bank accounts between 2009 and 2016, which were identified as being profits from a "pyramid scheme" in China and Canada. In 2021, Gong agreed to forfeit more than $60 million to the New Zealand government, which also included a property in Auckland. 

"So that probably means his whole campaign is likely a money laundering scheme. Can't say it's surprising but I need to know more about what he's up to," one person wrote after discovering Gong's history. 

Others pointed out that Gong's campaign website promises to "turn Toronto into the world capital of metaverse, blockchain, crypto, and digital asset exchange."