Mayoral candidate Kent Hehr's new ad campaign is meant to get people talking, he says. Hehr was made a paraplegic after being shot in 1991. (CBC)

Mayoral candidate Kent Hehr has unveiled what he calls "bullet" ads as part of his campaign.

The billboard and transit ads read: "A bullet can't stop him. Nothing can. Vote Hehr for Mayor."

The "bullet" is in reference to a shooting in October 1991 that left Hehr a paraplegic.

Hehr, then 22, was a student planning to become a physical education teacher when he was shot while riding in a friend's car.

A stranger in another car fired at them in what Hehr's campaign website describes as "a random act of violence."

Hehr said the aim of the ad series is to get people talking.

"Hey I've been 19 years in a wheelchair and I've had a glorious life, a glorious future — same as this city," Hehr told CBC News on Friday.

"This city has difficult times, like everybody. We battle through. We keep our eye on the ball. We realize that times are going to get better. We keep on working towards those."

Now is the time to think about the long-term benefits of continuing to fund libraries, and building an airport tunnel, Hehr said.

He is one of 14 declared candidates for mayor.

Two candidates dropped out of the mayor's race on Friday. Alnoor Kassam and Paul Hughes are throwing their support behind Barb Higgins.

Nomination papers are due Monday.