A controversial advertisement promoting Maxime Bernier’s stance on immigration has been stripped from a Toronto billboard.

The leader of the People's Party of Canada is complaining of censorship after the owner of the billboards, featuring Bernier's face and a slogan advocating against mass immigration, said the ads would be removed following an outpour of criticism.

Petitions have sprung up calling on Pattison Outdoor Advertising to take the ads down, arguing that they violate the company's own code of conduct.





One of the billboards, located at Carlaw Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard, was removed on Monday morning after the company bowed to pressure.

It comes a day after Pattison Outdoor Advertising said people who have a problem with the ads should take it up with the advertiser, True North Strong & Free Advertising Corp.

The statement said they reviewed the ad content and it did not violate the Ad Standards of Canada (ASC) code or their own policies.





"We take a neutral position on ads that comply with the ASC code as we believe Canadians do not want us to be the judge or arbiter of what the public can or cannot see," the company said in a statement circulated on their social media accounts.

"Should advertising elicit a public debate, we encourage Canadians to voice their opinions directly to the advertiser who placed the message as it is our policy that their contact information must be a legible part of the ad."

Later in the day, the company issued a second statement saying that while the billboards didn't violate any policy, they would come down nonetheless.

"It was never my or Pattison Outdoor's intention to offend, alienate or in any way insult the public by allowing this ad to be run," company president Randy Otto wrote, adding that the company would review its advocacy guidelines.

He said that neither he nor anyone else at the company endorses the message of the advertiser.

Meanwhile, Bernier is blaming a "totalitarian leftist mob" for the decision to take down the billboards.

“The message on the billboard is not ‘controversial’ for two thirds of Canadians who agree with it, and for those who disagree but support free speech and an open discussion,” Bernier said on Twitter.

At the People's Party national campaign launch Sunday in Sainte-Marie, Que., Bernier said he agreed with the ad's message, though noted they were placed by an outside group.

He said the current number of immigrants Canada accepts annually -- 350,000 -- is too high and needs to be scaled back.

"For me, mass immigration is 350,000 a year so yes we're against mass immigration," he said.

The message on the billboard is not “controversial” for two thirds of Canadians who agree with it, and for those who disagree but support free speech and an open discussion.



It’s only controversial for the totalitarian leftist mob who want to censor it. https://t.co/0EqZrg7qSz — Maxime Bernier (@MaximeBernier) August 26, 2019

With files from The Canadian Press