Nomination contenders accuse Conservatives of skipping nomination process in Brampton

Sarah Petz · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 05, 2025 5:07 PM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

Two Brampton men allege the Conservative Party bypassed the information process successful favour of appointing candidates to tally successful the city's ridings, pushing them to articulation the Liberal Party alternatively — and instrumentality their supporters on with them. 

Gurminder Gill and Babbu Sran accidental they submitted their information applications months agone to go the Conservative candidates successful Brampton North—Caledon and Brampton Centre, respectively, but ne'er received a effect from the party. 

Both said they recovered retired they weren't palmy candidates erstwhile the national predetermination was called and the Conservatives announced their slate of candidates. 

"What's the reason? Why is determination nary information oregon nothing?" Gill said. "They didn't archer america anything."

Now, they accidental they're leaving the enactment down to go members of the Liberal Party alternatively aft supporting the Conservatives for much than a decade.

The 2 men hosted an lawsuit successful Brampton Saturday to thank the radical they signed up arsenic members of the Conservative Party of Canada, wherever they encouraged them to enactment the Liberals instead.  

Gill said helium feels the process is "totally unfair," particularly aft putting successful galore hours to rally enactment for the party. 

He said helium feels the Conservatives are not doing "justice to their members." 

Sran said helium feels the same. 

"Right now, transparency and ideology is done successful the Conservative Party," helium said.

"Backroom politics, it's not bully for anyone."

On Saturday, Gill and Sran said they weren't readying connected seeking candidacy for the Liberals successful the upcoming national election. 

A spokesperson for the Conservative run declined to remark connected the party's reasons the individuals were not permitted to run. 

"That said, applicants indispensable beryllium honorable successful their exertion packages," the spokesperson said, adding that the candidates moving for the Conservatives — Amandeep Judge successful Brampton North—Caledon and Taran Chahal successful Brampton Centre volition "make fantabulous representatives." 

According to the Elections Canada website, Judge and Chahal are presently the lone confirmed candidates moving successful the national predetermination for those ridings. 

However, the Liberal Party of Canada's website says Ruby Sahota is moving to reclaim her spot arsenic an MP for Brampton North—Caledon, while Amandeep Sodhi is moving for the enactment successful Brampton Centre. 

There are nary candidates listed for either riding connected the NDP oregon Green Party websites. 

The parties have until 2 p.m. ET connected Monday to finalize their nominated candidates.

Not uncommon for parties to handpick candidates: professor 

It's not uncommon for governmental enactment enactment to handpick which candidates they privation running, contempt the quality of an unfastened and just information process, said Lori Turnbull, a authorities prof successful the module of absorption astatine Dalhousie University.

"In practice, parties are gatekeepers. Parties person the close to determine who's going to transportation the banner, and I deliberation there's antiauthoritarian worth to that," she said. 

"Parties should beryllium capable to accidental that that prospective campaigner either represents our values oregon they don't, and truthful we o.k. oregon we don't."

Ultimately, it comes down to which idiosyncratic the enactment thinks stands the champion accidental of winning successful an election, she said. 

"The person wants to win, the enactment wants to win, that extremity of occurrence — arsenic galore seats arsenic the enactment tin triumph astatine the predetermination — thing is going to override that."