TORONTO: Candidate controversies over vaccines and Islamophobia dogged the leader of Canadas opposition Conservative party on Saturday ahead of the Sept. 20 election.
A Conservative candidate in Nova Scotia apologized for social media posts that weighed in on sharia law and backed banning the burqa worn by some Muslim women. And on Friday the Conservative party confirmed they had dumped Beaches-East York candidate in Toronto after the ridings Liberal incumbent, Nate Erskine-Smith, highlighted Islamophobic tweets from 2017.
Were running a positive campaign based on bringing the country together and getting the country back on its feet from an economic point of view. And I want people on my team to share that, Conservative leader Erin OToole said Saturday.
OToole also appeared to give tacit approval for Conservative candidates who are not fully vaccinated to campaign in retirement residences, so long as they abide by public health measures. The question came up after Conservative candidate for Peterborough-Kawartha, Michelle Ferreri, posted photos of herself to social media canvassing in a seniors residence despite having received only one shot.
OToole wont say how many of his candidates are unvaccinated. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said all his have been vaccinated except one who received a medical exemption.
Trudeau called the vote last month hoping to win a majority of seats in Parliament, but polls show a tight race.
OToole, 48, won the leadership of the Conservative party last year by advertising himself as a true blue conservative and promising to take back Canada. He campaigned on the right but has since adopted more moderate positions.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
Read all minute-by-minute news updates for Uttar Pradesh election results 2022, Punjab election results 2022, Uttarakhand election results 2022, Manipur election results 2022, and Goa election results 2022.
Click here for seat-wise LIVE result updates.
Comments
0 comment