After the Winnipeg city council voted Monday to condemn racist imagery at a protest over the weekend, a Regina resident wanted his councillors to do the same.
So he did what many people do in the 21st century when wanting something from a politician. He tweeted at them.
The response wasn鈥檛 quite what he was looking for.
鈥淚 am not the mayor,鈥� came the written response. 鈥淭his is my name.鈥�
It is not the first time that Regina Mayor, an energy expert at KPMG in Houston, Tex., has danced with eager Saskatchewanians with less than perfect Twitter skills.
鈥淭here were a whole bunch about street racing once that I totally didn鈥檛 understand,鈥� she reported via Twitter. 鈥淎nd usual rants about city inefficiency. What鈥檚 going on up there?鈥�
For her troubles Monday, she was rewarded with several new followers, the offer of a new 鈥淓xperience Regina鈥� T-shirt from the city鈥檚 Rebellion Brewing Company, and an awful lot of apologetic Canadians.
One suggested the real mayor of Regina, Sandra Masters 鈥� who is not on Twitter 鈥� should join the apology club.
鈥淎nd I await an apologetic response from the real mayor of Regina,鈥� the non-mayor Mayor from Texas replied in jest to that suggestion, with a tears of joy emoji for effect.
If Mayor wants, she could also form a club of Canadian social media doppelg盲ngers, joining the likes of Erin O鈥橳oole, Doug Ford and Jason Kenney.
鈥淭witter twins,鈥� squealed Erin O鈥橳oole, a National Public Radio host in Colorado who has spent the last 17 months following the ebbs and flows of Canadian Conservative politics through Twitter misfires.
On the morning of Aug. 24, 2020, the Colorado O鈥橳oole woke up to find she had a whole lot of new Canadian followers. It turns out the politician O鈥橳oole had just won the Conservative leadership.
She has had a disclaimer pinned to the top of her feed since that day.
鈥淚 see a couple of new friends from Canada this morning 鈥� Just so you know, I may not be the Erin O鈥橳oole you鈥檙e looking for,鈥� she wrote.
O鈥橳oole, who oddly even shares a birthday with her Canadian Twitter twin, has had many laughs over the misdirected tweets. On Monday, her feed blew up again with Canadians commenting after news broke about a challenge to political O鈥橳oole鈥檚 leadership.
鈥淚 mean it鈥檒l be hard to say goodbye to all this,鈥� she wrote.
She never really thought much about Canadian politics before 2020. Now she is likely among the most well-informed Americans on Canadian Conservative politics.
In Richmond, Va., Jason Kenney had some fun at Regina Mayor鈥檚 expense Monday.
鈥淩un for mayor,鈥� he suggested. 鈥淏ecome mayor. Have everyone call you Mayor Mayor. It鈥檒l be great.鈥�
Kenney has felt Regina Mayor鈥檚 pain. His political Twitter twin is the premier of Alberta. A mistaken tag happens often enough that he has added 鈥渘ot Canadian鈥� to his Twitter bio.
On the weekend, when he saw Premier Jason Kenney tweet that he would be visiting nearby in Washington, D.C. over the weekend, Virginia Jason Kenney responded, 鈥渦mmm, road trip?鈥�
鈥淗onestly, I was more thinking this would be a great opportunity to meet 鈫昷kenney, get a beer (or Jameson) and a couple photos,鈥� he would add later. 鈥淚f it weren鈥檛 for two kids with COVID, a winter storm, and the drive through (Northern Virginia) I might have seriously tried. Next time.鈥�
O鈥橳oole hasn鈥檛 met her Canadian social media twin but they did speak on the phone when Canadian O鈥橳oole鈥檚 office got wind of the online mix-ups.
The American Kenney and O鈥橳oole have even amassed legions of Canadian fans of their own, who will tip them to beware an incoming flood of mentions whenever the Canadian O鈥橳oole or Kenney make big headlines.
Some have sent O鈥橳oole boxes of Coffee Crisp chocolate bars, which you can鈥檛 get in the United States.
Colorado O鈥橳oole said sometimes she does find herself on the receiving end of an angry Canadian, which can be disconcerting momentarily until she remembers they鈥檙e not really yelling at her. And while she has no input on the future of Canadian O鈥橳oole鈥檚 political career, the end of it will likely also end her celebrity period on social media.
鈥淚鈥檓 both relieved (for my Twitter mentions) and sad that our incredible and unusual relationship may be coming to an end,鈥� she tweeted Wednesday after the Canadian O鈥橳oole lost a vote to remain as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
鈥淚 have had so much fun interacting with these wonderful people from Canada,鈥� she had said before the vote took place. 鈥淎nd I have to say, I mean, everyone who realizes, 鈥極h, I mistakenly tagged the wrong person,鈥� they鈥檙e just as nice as can be. And very apologetic.
鈥淪o yeah, I mean, I do expect it to fade away. This isn鈥檛 gonna last forever. And people don鈥檛 follow me because they want pictures of my dog or what I鈥檓 working on at work. But you know, yeah, I have to say, I鈥檒l miss it if it goes away.鈥�
鈥擬ia Rabson THE CANADIAN PRESS
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