Toronto city staff and police are investigating after signs targeting white people “sick of being blamed for all the world’s problems” and urging them to “join the alt-right” were spotted in the city on Monday.

Kevin Kerr said his family caregiver was walking his children to school through Stan Wadlow Park in East York on Monday morning when they came across the poster.

“Hey, white person,” the sign read. “Tired of political correctness? Wondering why only white countries have to become ‘multicultural’? Figured out that diversity only means ‘less white people’?”

The poster lists websites associated with the alt-right, a movement associated with promotion of white identity and white supremacy.

“I was absolutely floored,” Kerr said. He tweeted photo of the poster, saying he was “disgusted by racists empowered by (Donald Trump).”

The signs were quickly denounced on social media by many, while others questioned whether the poster was racist, in some cases citing free speech.

Ward 31 councilor Janet Davis was notified of the sign and said city staff would be removing the posters.

“This hate is unacceptable in our city,” Davis tweeted. “Staff are removing the posters immediately and investigating who is responsible.”

Nate Erskine-Smith, the member of parliament for Beaches-East York, also condemned the sign.

“We are better than this. Ignorant, unacceptable and #NotMyCanada,” he tweeted.

Toronto Police spokesperson Victor Kwong said police have received many reports about the signs and have taken them down.

“This report will be furthered to see whether or not it is a crime or not,” Kwong said. “We’re looking into it.”

Similar signs were spotted in different areas across the city. One poster listing groups associated with the alt-right movement was spotted at 1 Yonge St. Another poster showing a photo of a young boy reaching for his father’s hand as he stands in line in a military uniform with the caption “they didn’t fight and die for you to hand the west away” was seen in Bennington Heights, according to a Facebook post.

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Marilyn Mayo, a research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, described the alt-right movement as “a loose network of people who promote white identity, and reject mainstream conservatism in favour of a politics that embraces either implicit or explicit racism or white supremacy.” She is not surprised it has appeared in Canada.

“People feel emboldened right now to promote their white supremacist view. They feel that the movement has been embraced and is getting into the mainstream,” Mayo said.

“They were more of a fringe movement, but they’ve received a lot of attention this year because of their support of Donald Trump.”