Did this Conservative candidate photoshop his name over another candidate’s election sign?

UPDATE: The Tim Laidler campaign has confirmed to VanCityBuzz that they did, in fact, photoshop Laidler’s name over another candidate’s sign.

Is Tim Laidler the Conservative candidate of the 21st century?

It’s possible, if the Conservatives’ choice for Port Moody-Coquitlam digitally altered a photograph to remove another Conservative candidate’s name from an election sign and replace it with his own.

The Conservative Party is no stranger to misleading photos. Laidler himself even showed up in few taxpayer-funded photos at taxpayer-funded events.

What’s Laidler’s latest adventure in the world of photography?

Check out that “Tim Laidler” sign in the background of the image below. Notice anything… Strange?

Didn’t see it?

Take a closer look:

Why does “Tim Laidler” appear in a font different from other Conservative election signs? What is up with that fuzzy, pixellated, off-blue rectangle just behind the words “Tim Laidler”?

Did Laidler photoshop his name onto another candidate’s election sign?

The photo above was taken at a Richmond B.C. rally headlined by Stephen Harper in August which Laidler attended.

Yet other photos from the same event appear to show the same sign with Surrey Centre Conservative candidate Sucha Thind’s name. Here’s a different photo from the same event but a slightly different angle:

Observant readers will note: (1) the same lectern; (2) the same Canadian flag; (3) the same “Alice Wong” election sign; (4) the same “Wai Young” election sign; (5) different “Sucha Thind” / “Tim Laidler” signs; and (6) the same Tim Laidler.

Laidler’s campaign is keeping quiet – they will not even confirm they sent the e-mail in which the digitally altered photo appears, despite multiple requests for comment (including the tweet below).

Hi @LaidlerTim. Did your campaign send an e-mail to supporters on August 25th?

— PressProgress (@pressprogress) September 22, 2015

But a copy of the e-mail sent to Laidler’s supporters on August 25th obtained by PressProgress sure looks like it came from the Tim Laidler campaign:

After being presented with before and after images of Thind’s altered sign, Thind’s campaign managers told PressProgress that “since we have no idea what you’re talking about, we have forwarded your concerns to head office.”

^{Photo credit: Port Moody-Coquitlam Electoral District Association.}