Conservatives drop fourth candidate in just two days over alleged social media activity

Former Etobicoke-North Conservative candidate Don Patel (left) shakes hands with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. (Don Patel X account)

With the federal election less than a month away, the Conservative party has dropped a fourth candidate in just two days – this time over alleged social media activity.

Late Wednesday, the party confirmed to CTV News that Don Patel will no longer be running to represent the party in the riding of Etobicoke North and shared a screenshot of a social media comment they say was shared with them that Patel supported in the past.

According to the screen grab, the comment reads: “Should be stop these people by Canadian government and deported to India then PM Modi can take care of these non-sense people.”

“Endorsing such a statement is clearly unacceptable,” a campaign spokesperson said in a statement. “The Conservative Party will always stand up for the safety and security of Canadians. The individual is no longer a candidate.”

CTV News has asked for further information on the social media post but have yet to hear back.

According to a post on X on Wednesday morning, Patel was campaigning in the riding, saying “Another great day at the doors!”

Patel is the latest candidate to get the boot from the Conservatives.

On Tuesday, the party ousted Windsor city councillor Mark McKenzie – who was running to represent the riding of Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore – after CTV News obtained audio of 2022 podcast comments in which he joked about former prime minister Justin Trudeau getting the death penalty.

Hours later, Stefan Marquis — who was running for the Conservatives in the Montreal riding of Laurier—Sainte-Marie, held by Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault since 2019 — wrote in a post on social media that he is no longer a candidate for the party.

“In a call received this morning from one of Quebec’s operations managers for the party, 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 wrote on X, along with a cartoon image of a hand pressing a button on a person’s head to get them to speak. “The call lasted less than a minute.”

Late Tuesday night, the party confirmed Lourence Singh would “not be a candidate” for the riding of New Westminster-Burnaby-Maillardville, but did not elaborate on the reason behind his departure.

Singh tells CTV News that a reason for his removal was provided to him, but he will give “no further comment” as he is working to appeal the decision.

“I have submitted a letter to the CPC National Council humbly requesting the Party reconsider its decision and am obtaining support from community members,” Singh said in a statement.

Candidates have until April 7 to declare their intention to run.

With files from CTV News’ Spencer Van Dyk and Ben Miljure