Ontario taps influencers in new stay home campaign

The Ontario government has launched a new online campaign encouraging people to #StayHomeON.

The campaign kicked off with a “rant” from Rick Mercer.

Comedian Rick Mercer is telling young people to picture Premier Doug Ford standing in the room in a hazmat suit…. when they are thinking about leaving home to “hook up.” It’s part of the Ontario governments’ social media campaign to #StayHomeON. 😂 @CHCHNews @morninglive pic.twitter.com/hxN5TUSzxP

— Sylvie Lendvay (@sylvie_lendvay) January 22, 2021

“In safer times my job is to encourage people to travel our province, attend music festivals and to cheer on our sports teams,” said Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture.

“But now is not the time. Right now, we all have the responsibility to Stay Home, Stay Safe, and Save Lives.”

The Toronto Raptors and Ottawa Senators will also help spread the word, along with municipal leaders including Toronto mayor John Tory, Windsor mayor Drew Dilkins and Jim Diodati from Niagara Falls.

This message comes as Ontario reported 2,632 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. It’s the fourth straight day daily cases have been under the 3,000 mark.

Premier Doug Ford released his own online message on Thursday.