A federal NDP candidate is speaking out against campaign "fear tactics" after his Edmonton home was vandalized.

Aaron Paquette, NDP candidate in Edmonton-Manning, said his wife was pulling out of the driveway on Thanksgiving morning and received "quite a shock" when the garage door closed and she saw, in spray paint, "a big, orange genitalia staring back at her."

"She was rattled at first but we started talking about it and you can't really take that too seriously but at the same time, this is indicative of what happens when the Conservatives are running such a negative campaign," said Paquette.

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The vandal used orange spraypaint to draw the picture as well as cover the lights attached to his home. No other homes on his block in Brintnell were vandalized and Paquette said he believes "fear tactics" prompted the vandal to lash out at him a week from the Oct. 19 vote.

"It's not surprising that people who are spooked decide that's an action they can take. If you stoke fear in people, it's irresponsible. You don't know how people are going to react," he said.

"The focus should be on the economy. It should be on jobs. It should be on how we can make the community stronger."

Paquette said he didn't feel the need to call police and he later painted over the image.

matthew.dykstra@sunmedia.ca

@SunMattDykstra