Would-be prime minister Mark Carney’s special campaign logo to try to win the Liberal leadership was too good to be true.
Or, at least apparently, too good to be used by him legally.
He wasn’t even one minute into his quest to become Canada’s next prime minister and Carney already was embroiled in his first scandal. Not for copying a policy or overspending but for allegedly copying his new campaign logo that seemed to be so good, it already belonged to somebody else.
And he has been asked to “cease” using it.
“That’s a beautiful logo Mark but we’re apolitical,” MetCredit president and CEO Brian Summerfelt posted to X.
With the M worked into with a red maple leaf, it is a nice logo – something Metropolitan Credit Adjusters Ltd. points out it has had trademarked since 2020 in Canada and 2023 in the United States.
But somehow the Carney campaign, which kicked off Thursday in Edmonton, missed that.
Following up on his X post, Summerfelt sent an email to Carney with the information that his campaign logo was almost exactly the one that Edmonton-based but national business debt collection firm MetCredit uses in its day-to-day communications.
“Mark, my logo is a registered trademark. The one created for your campaign is too close for comfort,” wrote Summerfelt. “Please cease using it. Thank you.”
Perhaps the only thing worse than government coming after you is a professional collection agency, as Carney will soon see.
The big question is how did this happen?
“His creative team definitely took a short cut,” said Summerfelt, who on MetCredit’s website says “like many MetCredit’s senior management team, started out on the collection floor and has learned a thing or two in his two decades in the business.”
One thing Summerfelt understands is what belongs to him does not belong to someone else.
“Symbols should usually be researched first,” he told the Toronto Sun.
The next big question is will the Carney campaign heed the request to stop using it and come up with someone else?
The campaign has so far not commented.
“We will see what happens today,” said Summerfelt.
It’s never much fun when a top collection agency comes calling so it may be a bit of an uncomfortable day for Carney and his team — especially since they have used this logo in their ads, on the podium he spoke from, and in television spots.
It will take some work to change it all.
But it seems there really is no way around it. Inside the trademark agreement registered with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, it very clearly shows MetCredit’s approval and also says, “The applicant disclaims the right to the exclusive use of the eleven-point maple leaf apart from the trademark.”
While he had a softer opening with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show on Monday, it has proven to be tougher ground for Carney on Canadian soil as he gets his quest going to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Just like voters don’t like to see their tax dollars stolen, it turns out companies are not big on having their logos allegedly hijacked either.
While critics may be talking about Canada’s potential next prime minister doing some spin on his position on the carbon tax, possible conflicts because of his many high-level jobs in Canada and abroad, or those who take issue with his outsider claims, it all comes down to copyright.
The campaign’s slick logo doesn’t belong to them. And they have been asked to stop using it.