Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said his party’s vetting process is “stronger” than that of his rivals, responding to media criticism after the party ditched several candidates. Several Liberal and NDP candidates have also been removed from the ballot by their respective parties.
Poilievre said the Conservative’s vetting strength is rooted in its “zero tolerance for anyone who acts unacceptably.”
When asked about the reliability of his party’s vetting process given that four candidates had been dropped over the last several days, Poilievre said the Conservative’s approach was the “exact opposite” of the Liberals.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney has recently faced condemnation from human rights groups for refusing to ask Liberal candidate Paul Chiang to step down after calling for a Conservative opponent to be handed over to communist China in exchange for a bounty. Chiang ultimately stepped down after the RCMP told CBC News that they are currently investigating whether his remarks violated Canadian law.
“Our vetting process is stronger than all the other parties. That’s why we have a zero tolerance for anyone who acts unacceptably,” he said during a rally in Kingston Thursday.
“This is the exact opposite of what we saw from Mr. Carney, who tried to keep on as a candidate, someone who had asked for his Conservative opponent to be handed over to the Chinese Communist government on a bounty.”
“Mr. Carney said that it was a teachable moment,” Poilievre continued. “He’s right. It taught all of us that Mark Carney will never put Canada first.”
The Liberals have dropped three candidates since the election first began on March 23, including most recently Edmonton-area candidate Rod Loyola for praising terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah during a 2009 anti-NATO protest.
Former Liberal candidate Thomas Keeper in Calgary was dropped last week following Juno News’ exclusive investigation into disturbing allegations that he engaged in a pattern of abusive behaviour, including his failure to disclose a 2005 stayed domestic assault charge.
The Conservatives ejected Etobicoke—North candidate Don Patel after the party became aware of a screenshot that appeared to show him approving of a Facebook comment suggesting Canadians critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be deported to India and punished.
Additionally, Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore Conservative candidate Mark McKenzie was kicked out for joking about endorsing “public hangings” on a 2022 podcast and former prime minister Justin Trudeau receiving the death penalty.
The Conservatives removed two other candidates, Stefan Marquis and Lourence Singh, with no official explanation although Marquis suggested that he thought his dismissal was due to past social media activity regarding the Russia-Ukraine war.
Poilievre was also asked why the party was allowing Kingston candidate Bryan Patterson to stay on following past “connection to a church that supported conversion therapy.”
Poilievre called the reporter’s question inaccurate because she “omitted” that “Patterson renounced conversion therapy years ago.”