Conservatives drop Montreal candidate who shared conspiracy theories on social media

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 6:13 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Stefan Marquis announced connected X Tuesday that helium is nary longer a campaigner for the Conservative Party of Canada successful the Montreal riding of Laurier-Sainte-Marie owed to caller posts helium made connected the societal media platform.

In the lengthy post, written successful some French and English, Marquis said helium was called Tuesday greeting by 1 of Quebec's operations managers for the party and told that "certain" radical wrong the enactment recovered caller posts to beryllium "sufficient crushed to extremity our governmental collaboration."

The telephone lasted little than a minute, helium said.

"While, by its ain volition, the CPC chose to abruptly chopped escaped a devoted state consenting to run successful a notoriously analyzable governmental landscape, renowned nationwide arsenic unjustly hostile to dependable blimpish opinions, the enactment successful truthful doing desecrated the basal rule of the archetypal of our earthy rights: that of liberty," helium said. 

Marquis added sentiment should beryllium respected for some the idiosyncratic associated with the enactment and the "thousands of citizens" whose dependable it represents. 

"Publish a non-vetted tweet connected X and expect ostracization from your earthy ally," helium concluded. "This present appears to beryllium the mode of Canadian politics."

In the comments section, helium did not specify which posts helium believes led to his removal but said the enactment had reviewed his X relationship earlier his information connected March 27.

"All of the posts and replies made since past are inactive disposable connected my illustration — but for the information announcement," Marquis said.

Posts astir vaccination, Ukraine

The Conservative Party confirmed that Marquis is nary longer a candidate, but spokesperson Audrey Lepage declined to supply a reason, saying "we person thing to adhd connected this subject."

Marquis has made respective posts and comments relating to conspiracy theories connected subjects specified as COVID-19, vaccines, the World Economic Forum and the penetration of Ukraine.

Marquis was not the lone campaigner to beryllium dropped connected Tuesday. The Conservative campaigner successful the southwestern Ontario riding of Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore is nary longer moving successful this national predetermination run implicit past comments arsenic well.

Mark McKenzie is simply a metropolis councillor and erstwhile vigor property successful Windsor. The improvement was archetypal reported by CTV News during the 2nd week of campaigning.

The broadcaster said it unearthed a 2022 podcast signaling during which McKenzie expressed enactment for nationalist hangings and jokingly suggested Justin Trudeau, the premier curate astatine the time, should person the decease penalty.

Canada's wide predetermination is scheduled for April 28. Steven Guilbeault has represented Laurier-Sainte-Marie for the Liberals since 2019.