Four weeks into the federal election campaign, there are still very few campaign signs in play in the Halifax area. However, one in particular sticks out more than others - candidate Earl Grey’s sign.
Grey is the leader of the Tuxedo Party and a relative of Tuxedo Stan, the cat that ran in the Halifax mayoral election in 2012.
“Earl is Tuxedo Stan's brother, so we felt that, sort of like the Kennedys, we'd pass the reins of power on down to his brother,” says Hugh Chisholm, Grey’s campaign manager and a retired veterinarian.
Stan passed away in the fall of 2013, leading up to the provincial election. Grey stepped up in his absence and ran an unsuccessful campaign to be premier of Nova Scotia.
Now, he's back in the spotlight hoping to become the country's next prime minister.
“We're hoping to have elections signs available in all provinces, hopefully even territories. So this is truly going to be a national campaign,” says Chisholm.
Grey has his own election signs, bumper stickers, campaign buttons, and even T-shirts - anything that will help him scratch and claw his way to victory.
Grey’s campaign platform is animal welfare. Chisholm says the cat brings a voice to the voiceless and voteless.
“It's a huge problem and unfortunately there's no government agency that's looking after it,” says Chisholm.
He says, while animal cruelty laws are tough in the Maritimes, they're outdated across the country.
“It was written in 1892 and it hasn't really been looked at since,” says Chisholm. “So the laws are very archaic. There's a lot of cruelty that goes on in this country that people basically walk away from.”
All of the money raised from the sale of campaign merchandise will help spay and neuter feral cats around Halifax.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Matt Woodman
