Blue planet, green ideas | The harvest of election signs

Sleeping in a trailer-trailer pulled by a bicycle and made from reused election signs… hard to go greener. In Longueuil, a father-son project carried out in full confinement allows them to travel without polluting, under the stoic gaze of Denis Trudel, Sherry Romanado or Andrew Scheer.

Lila Dussault
Press

The story begins during the federal election night of 2019. Armed with headlamps, Patrice Gauvin and his son, Rafaël, then 13 years old, anxiously await the closing of the polling stations. At the end of October, they are ready to take to the streets of Longueuil to collect election signs from municipal poles.

Patrice Gauvin is an engineer by training, patenter in his spare time and works in aeronautics. Some time before, he acquired the blueprint for a minimalist trailer made of Coroplast (plastic used in election signs) on the site of Paul Elkins – an American who designs various prototypes. This electoral campaign is an opportunity for him to undertake the project.

Visit the Elkins DIY website

“The most memorable moment was when we ‘voluntarily’ went to remove the signs,” says Rafaël Gauvin, smirking. Note that what happens to election signs after the election varies from one political party to another. Candidates sometimes even give them to citizens or organizations.

Read our article about it

In all, 12 signs were used for the project. The result: two bicycle trailers, each able to accommodate a person lying down or sitting down, storage and even a small fridge. On the outside, they are pierced with spherical or square windows and have a rounded and pleasant appearance, like a snail shell. Inside, the hues of the various political parties – and the gaze of the candidates – color the space.

To travel light

“I am more of a traveler than a cyclist,” explains Patrice Gauvin. But with the climate change, I felt more and more uncomfortable in my car. ”

For Rafaël, the environmental aspect of the project goes without saying: “We just have one planet and if we use all our resources, we will die. So yes, it’s important to me, ”he told Press, seated in his courtyard in Vieux-Longueuil.

The father and son took advantage of the confinement in the spring of 2020 to build the two trailers, in the basement of their home. To celebrate their accomplishment, they improvised a camping session, right in the house.

In the summer, Patrice Gauvin quickly realized that the caravans were heavy to pull, by bike. To be able to travel, he decided to go beyond design original by adding solar panels. This energy powers an electrically assisted bicycle and cools the small fridge.

Thanks to this ingenious addition, the Longueuillois has already traveled about 1000 kilometers in the province, walking in Montérégie, in the Capitale-Nationale and in the Eastern Townships.

Apolitical humor

“I say that we are volunteers for all political parties,” remarks Patrice Gauvin with a contagious smile. Man describes himself as apolitical. It is therefore not his favorite candidates who determine the choice of signs.

The New Democratic Party (NDP), for example, is automatically excluded. The reason ? He doesn’t use big enough signs!

The condition of the posters is also important: “Our favorites are the signs where there are no big holes”, explains Patrice Gauvin. He regrets that during the federal election campaign of 2021, the use of a nail machine was widespread, which damaged the equipment. The Bloc Québécois had the palm of the signs in better condition, according to Patrice Gauvin.

Other Coroplast projects have since emerged with the Gauvins, such as a hockey goal and a bicycle trailer for grocery shopping. There is no shortage of ideas.

“With the federal, municipal and provincial elections coming up, it’s a good year,” says Patrice Gauvin. We are going to harvest! ”