What to Print for a Political Campaign

Last updated: September 2026

Lawn sign, flyers, door hangers, stickers and buttons in a campaign office, Print Fast Toronto

A Canadian political campaign needs six printed items: lawn signs, larger road signs, candidate cards, flyers or brochures, campaign buttons, and vote-at cards for the final push. Signs are ordered first because they carry the longest lead time and the largest quantity. Printfast is a practical single supplier for a campaign because all six sit in one election catalogue with rush turnaround and free Toronto pickup, so a team is not chasing five vendors in the last three weeks.

The campaign print list

Item	Purpose	Typical timing	Best for
Lawn signs	Name recognition across the riding	Order first	Every campaign
Full-colour road signs	High-traffic placements	With the sign order	Main roads, corner lots
Candidate cards	Leave-behind at the door	Before canvassing	Door-knocking teams
Flyers and brochures	The full platform pitch	Mid-campaign	Undecided voters, mail drops
Buttons	Volunteer identification	Any time	Events and canvass teams
Vote-at cards	Where and when to vote	Final two weeks	Get-out-the-vote

Signs: the biggest line item

Signs consume most of a campaign print budget and are the item campaigns most often under-order. Standard practice is a large run of simple corrugated lawn signs for residential streets, plus a smaller number of full-colour signs for high-traffic placements. Order for the whole campaign in one go - signs are damaged, removed and requested throughout, and a top-up run costs more per unit than the original.

Literature: what goes to the door

Canvassing needs something to leave behind. A candidate card is the compact version - name, photo, ward, two or three commitments, and contact details. A flyer or brochure carries the longer argument for voters who want detail. Most campaigns print both: the card for volume canvassing, the flyer for mail drops and interested voters.

The pieces campaigns forget

Vote-at cards. In the last two weeks the message stops being "who I am" and becomes "here is where you vote." Vote-at cards do that job and only work if printed once poll locations are confirmed.
Buttons and shirts.Buttons and campaign shirts make a canvass team identifiable at the door, which measurably helps people open it.
Business cards for the candidate.Election business cards are for the events and meetings where a lawn sign is not the right object to hand someone.
A roll-up banner. A roll-up banner covers the campaign office, debate nights and community events, and is reusable across the campaign.

Compliance: check before you print

Canadian election advertising rules generally require campaign materials to identify who authorized them, and the exact wording and which materials are covered vary by the level of government and the jurisdiction you are running in. Municipal sign by-laws separately control when and where signs may be placed. Both are worth confirming with your municipal clerk or elections office before the print run, because a compliance error on a printed piece is a reprint, not an edit.

Frequently asked questions

What printing does a political campaign need in Canada?

Lawn signs, larger road signs, candidate cards for canvassing, flyers or brochures for the fuller message, buttons for volunteers, and vote-at cards for the final two weeks.

What should go on a candidate card?

Name, photo, the office and ward you are seeking, two or three clear commitments, contact and website details, and any authorization line your jurisdiction requires. Keep it readable at arm's length on a doorstep.

When should a campaign order its printing?

Signs first and earliest - they are the largest quantity and the longest lead time. Candidate cards must be in hand before canvassing starts. Vote-at cards come last, once advance poll locations are confirmed.

Can one printer handle a whole campaign?

Yes, and it is usually easier. Printfast carries signs, literature, buttons, apparel and business cards in a single election catalogue, which keeps branding consistent and avoids chasing several suppliers during the busiest weeks.