In what seems like a blast from the days of “No Irish Need Apply” signs, posters reading “Go Home Irish” have been spotted around Toronto in recent days.

The posters also direct viewers to a website – PleaseLeaveCanada.com.

So what’s going on here? Are the thousands of Irish who have immigrated to Canada in recent years suddenly no longer welcome? Is there some kind of tension between the Irish and the Canadians that we don’t know about?

No. As it turns, out, it’s a recruitment campaign.

The posters are from Dublin-based marketing agency The Social House, which is aiming to recruit Irish applicants who have been living abroad and lure them back home to Ireland.

The Please Leave Canada URL redirects to the following pop-up:

After receiving some complaints, The Social House issued a statement to clarify the intention behind the provocative campaign.

“We are looking to hire Irish people who have worked in other parts of the world," it read.

"We’re not anti-emigration, but we’d love to lure some of these internationally seasoned brains back home by pretending to be Anti-Irish-Canadians.

“We’ve been abroad ourselves. We know the pull of home but the fear that you may have to compromise on your career to come back.

"It can seem from the outside that Dublin doesn’t offer as good an opportunity as somewhere like New York, London, Sydney, or Toronto.

"But Dublin’s finding its feet again as a creative city, and we’re working hard to mess with the system and get make advertising more fun.”

Has the campaign worked, despite the furor?

It seems that it has. The Daily Edge reports that The Social House has received over 25 job applications from outside of Ireland since they started displaying the posters.

And, in any case, people are certainly talking.

What do you think of the “Go Home Irish” campaign? Share your thoughts in the comment section, below.

[H/T to Joe.ie]