Conservatives drop Montreal candidate who shared conspiracy theories on social media

Stefan Marquis announced on X Tuesday that he is no longer a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in the Montreal riding of Laurier-Sainte-Marie due to recent posts he made on the social media platform.

In the lengthy post, written in both French and English, Marquis said he was called Tuesday morning by one of Quebec's operations managers for the party and told that "certain" people within the party found recent posts to be "sufficient reason to end our political collaboration."

The call lasted less than a minute, he said.

"While, by its own volition, the CPC chose to abruptly cut loose a devoted ally willing to operate in a notoriously complicated political landscape, renowned nationwide as unjustly hostile to sound conservative opinions, the party in so doing desecrated the basic principle of the first of our natural rights: that of liberty," he said. 

Marquis added opinion should be respected for both the individual associated with the party and the "thousands of citizens" whose voice it represents. 

"Publish a non-vetted tweet on X and expect ostracization from your natural ally," he concluded. "This now appears to be the way of Canadian politics."

In the comments section, he did not specify which posts he believes led to his removal but said the party had reviewed his X account before his nomination on March 27.

"All of the posts and replies made since then are still visible on my profile — except for the nomination announcement," Marquis said.

Posts about vaccination, Ukraine

The Conservative Party confirmed that Marquis is no longer a candidate, but spokesperson Audrey Lepage declined to provide a reason, saying "we have nothing to add on this subject."

Marquis has made several posts and comments relating to conspiracy theories on subjects such as COVID-19, vaccines, the World Economic Forum and the invasion of Ukraine.

Marquis was not the only candidate to be dropped on Tuesday. The Conservative candidate in the southwestern Ontario riding of Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore is no longer running in this federal election campaign over past comments as well.

Mark McKenzie is a city councillor and former radio personality in Windsor. The development was first reported by CTV News during the second week of campaigning.

The broadcaster said it unearthed a 2022 podcast recording during which McKenzie expressed support for public hangings and jokingly suggested Justin Trudeau, the prime minister at the time, should receive the death penalty.

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