Conservatives Drop 4th Candidate in a Week

A man is silhouetted walking past a Conservative Party logo before the opening of the Party's national convention in Halifax on Aug. 23, 2018. Darren Calabrese / The Canadian Press

The federal Conservative Party has dismissed another candidate, bringing the total to four, after expelling three others on the same day earlier this week.

Don Patel, Conservative candidate for the Ontario riding of Etobicoke North, was dismissed for his alleged support of a social media comment suggesting that certain unidentified persons, whom the comment describes as “non-sense people,” be deported to India, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi would “take care” of them.

A screenshot shared by the Party shows a comment that reads, “Should be stop these people by Canadian government and deported to India then PM Modi can take care of these non-sense people.” Patel appears to have reacted to the comment with a “care” emoji.

“Endorsing such a statement is clearly unacceptable” a Conservative campaign spokesperson told The Epoch Times in a  statement. “The Conservative Party will always stand up for the safety and security of Canadians.”

The Party confirmed Patel’s dismissal on April 2. That morning, Patel had shared a post on social media in which he appeared to be campaigning. “Another great day at the doors!” he wrote.

Patel no longer appears listed as a candidate on the party’s website. The Epoch Times sought comment from Patel but did not immediately hear back.

Recent Dismissals

The day prior, the Tories had dropped three candidates from ridings in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.

Mark McKenzie, who was running in the southwestern Ontario riding of Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore, was removed from the race for comments he made in a comedy podcast in 2022, in which he expressed support for the death penalty and jokingly suggested former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should receive it.

“I’m also in favour of public hangings ... I think they should bring back the electric chair as well. But again, only if you’re like a million percent positive ... that guy is a murderer. A Paul Bernardo, you know what I mean, Charles Manson, people like that, Jeffrey Dahmer ... Epsteins, this is what I’m saying—Justin Trudeau,” he said on the podcast while laughing, telling the host, “You like how I threw Trudeau in there too, right?”

The Conservative Party confirmed on April 1 that McKenzie was no longer a candidate. “The comments are clearly unacceptable,” a Conservative campaign spokesperson told The Epoch Times in a statement. “Mr. McKenzie will not be the Conservative candidate.”

McKenzie did not respond to a request for comment. In an April 1 interview with radio station AM800, McKenzie called his removal “disappointing,” and said he was “joking” when referring to Trudeau. He said he stood by his stance on the need for “harsher penalties” for serious criminals.

On the same day, Stefan Marquis, a candidate for the Montreal riding of Laurier-Sainte-Marie, announced on social media platform X he was told that morning he would no longer be a Conservative candidate.

“I was told without further note that ‘certain’ individuals within the party had consulted my recent posts on Twitter-X and deemed these sufficient reason to end our political collaboration,” Marquis said in an April 1 social media post.

“The call lasted less than a minute. Consequently, I also requested that the party remove any and all public and internal communications linking me to it.”

Marquis said the Party didn’t specify what content it had an issue with, noting they had reviewed his X account before his nomination on March 27. He added that, with its decision, the Party had “cut loose a devoted ally willing to operate in a proven complicated political landscape.”

The Party did not respond to requests for comment on Marquis’ dismissal.

The third candidate disqualified by the Party was Lourence Singh from the B.C. riding of Westminster-Burnaby-Maillardville.

A Conservative campaign spokesperson confirmed to the media on April 1 that Singh had exited the race, but did not provide a reason for the decision. Singh last posted campaign-related content on social media on March 31, as of publication time.

“Mr. Lourence Singh will not be a candidate for the Conservative Party,” said the Party in a one-line statement to The Epoch Times.

Singh did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An online petition to reinstate Singh for the federal race was launched on April 1, with the former candidate listed as the petition starter. As of publication time, the petition had more than 200 signatures of its 500 goal.

Liberal MP Drops Out Amid Backlash

The exit of the Conservative candidates came a day after Liberal incumbent MP Paul Chiang dropped out of the federal race in the Ontario riding of Markham-Unionville, following backlash over comments he made in January, where he suggested turning in his then-rival, Tory candidate Joe Tay, to China for a bounty.

Tay is a Canadian citizen and one of the democracy activists targeted by Hong Kong authorities, who have issued an international bounty on him and several other activists.

Chiang made the comments to Chinese-language media Ming Pao during an ethnic media event in January, as first reported by the Toronto Association for Democracy in China.

“To everyone here, you can claim the $1-million-dollar bounty if you bring him to Toronto’s Chinese Consulate,” Chiang reportedly said about Tay, his then-rival in the Markham-Unionville riding.

Chiang issued an apology after the comments surfaced, calling them “deplorable and a complete lapse of judgement.” Liberal Leader Mark Carney faced calls from both the Conservatives and the NDP to remove Chiang as a candidate, but rejected them, saying that while Chiang had a “terrible lapse in judgment,” it was a “teachable moment” and he had acknowledged his mistake.

Chiang announced his exit from the race late on March 31, saying he didn’t “want there to be distractions” during what he called a “uniquely important election with so much at stake for Canadians.”

Federal party candidates can declare their intention to run until April 7. The general election is scheduled for April 28.