Ontario NDP candidate drops out of race after audio clip surfaces where she says ‘I want to be a Black woman’

Amanda Zavitz is pictured. (Facebook)

Three days of advance voting start today in the Ontario election.

You can find out everything you need to know about how to cast your ballot in early voting here.

In the meantime, here’s what’s happening on the campaign trail today.

3:20 p.m.

The NDP candidate for the riding of Elgin-Middlesex-London has bowed out of the race after the PC Party found comments she made previously and highlighted them on social media.

Western University sociology professor Amanda Zavitz said she made the comments during a presentation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March 2024.

“My secret is that I want to be a Black woman,” she is heard saying in the audio clip posted by the PC Party.

In another part of the clip she says “I want to be able to share my ideas without the barrier of looking the way I do.”

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Zavitz said she made the remark during an exercise that “was intended to unpack our biases” and offered an apology.

“I made a comment that I understand was harmful. I apologize unequivocally for that remark and any harm it has caused,” Zavitz wrote. “As a professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies I have made it my entire life’s work to amplify the voices of marginalized communities.”

Asked about the comments after casting her ballot in advance voting, NDP Leader Marit Stiles called them “deeply concerning,” and said the party reached out “immediately” to Zavitz after they came to light. She did not answer directly when asked if the party would ask Zavitz to step aside.

However a scheduled meet-and-greet event with her Thursday was cancelled.

In another post Thursday afternoon, Zavitz said that upon “further reflection and discussions with community members” she has decided to resign as a candidate.

“It has become clear that my past comments are distracting from the critical task of defeating Doug Ford and electing an Ontario NDP government,” Zavitz wrote.

By Thursday afternoon, her election webpage was no longer online.

2:15 p.m.

Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie gave a speech at The Canadian Club in Toronto Thursday, laying out her vision for health care and promising that she would bring mental health coverage under OHIP if elected.

“Mental health is health,” Crombie said. “At a moment when our kids are suffering with record-breaking levels of anxiety and depression, eating disorders and suicide, we cannot just sit back and hope things get better.”

She said her plan would roll out “universal mental health care” under OHIP, providing coverage for conditions like anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.

Crombie also got emotional onstage recalling her father’s own issues with addiction and mental health while explaining why the issue is personal to her.

The Liberals are also promising accessible mental health services for children and youth.

She said that the expansion in mental health coverage would be paid for through “growing Ontario’s economy,” but there was no specific costing attached.

Crombie has said her party is still working on releasing a costed platform ahead of Election Day.

1:15

Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner was in Kitchener to join his party’s deputy leader and Kitchener Centre candidate Aislinn Clancy for an announcement about supporting renters.

He said if his party is elected, they would expand rent control to all buildings, including those built after 2018, reform the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to cut wait times and protect landlords and tenants from bad actors; place a moratorium on above guideline rent increases; strengthen rules and penalties around renovictions and bad faith evictions; and reinstate vacancy control to limit rent increases between tenancies.

12:30 p.m.

PC Leader Doug Ford made a stop in Milton, where he was joined by a “special surprise guest,” Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston. The two shook hands with workers under the banner “Protecting Canada,” a tweak from Ford’s regular campaign slogan, “Protecting Ontario.”

He also faced some tough questions about comments he made at a police gala in London suggesting he supports bringing back the death penalty. Ford has said in the past he was joking. A reporter suggested to Ford Thursday hat the audio from the event did not sound like he was joking.

Ford answered by reiterating that it was a joke, but added that his frustration is with what he sees as lax bail rules.

“You know what my frustration is, and everyone’s frustration behind me too, is if the door gets kicked in, someone puts a gun to their head, threatens their family, steals their car, terrorizes neighborhoods. We’re done with that,” Ford said.

He said police are particularly frustrated because caught criminals are “out before they start the shift again.”

12 p.m.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles started her day by casting her ballot at a polling station in Toronto as advance voting kicked off across the province.