Anyone paying close enough attention the welcome sign at Northlands Trailer Park will notice it has a specific message for another neighbourhood in town.

Ingrained in one of the eight ptarmigan that make up the bottom of the sign reads 'Suck it Niven! :).'

Tamlin Gilbert, a resident of Northlands since 2009, said he found out about the hidden message in his neighbourhood's welcome sign during the first week of September thanks to a Facebook post.

"I'd call that bumper car humour," Gilbert chuckled. "It's a bit childish but no harm, no foul. It's not like it's directed at a person."

Gilbert added he thinks the reason Northlands would take a shot at Niven has to do with class lines.

"Niven is an aspirational community for people with money," he said. "You compare that to Northlands, people in Northlands have aspirations but their incomes are lower, and I think that tongue-in-cheek jibe is a bit like saying 'We have things that Niven doesn't.'"

Those things can include a community spirit, a social network and general support, Gilbert suggested. 

Whether the city gets involved has yet to be seen but Gilbert said they'd be silly to do so.

"There's no harm in it," he said.

When asked by SA国际影视传媒 about the hidden message, Coun. Garett Cochrane laughed out loud.

He said neighbourhoods having fun with each other is not a bad thing but each neighbourhood in Yellowknife is equal in his eyes.

"I hope Niven decides to up the ante and provide something on their side," he said.

Whether that jab is back at Northlands or for some other neighbourhood is entirely up to them but Cochrane said he's known about the message for a few weeks now and the signs have been up for about a month.

Gilbert said those signs were put up during the end of August. 

SA国际影视传媒 attempted to get in touch with Yk Condo Corp No. 8, the group which operates Northlands, to get answers on how the sign came to be, but the corporation's website is down and the contact number appeared to be out of service when it was called.

SA国际影视传媒 also reached out to the city for comment on the sign. Following print deadline, Abby Schelew, a communications advisor for the city, responded by referring to the city's zoning bylaw 5045, which notes that all signs require a development permit from the city.

"The City of Yellowknife will approve or decline a development permit based on several factors, including the content of the sign," Schelew wrote, adding that the municipality will address the sign, referring to it as an issue.