Liberal, Conservative Candidates Exit Canadian Election After Inflammatory Comments

Two candidates in Canada’s federal election campaign have been dropped after controversial remarks emerged, with Liberal incumbent Paul Chiang stepping aside and Conservative hopeful Mark McKenzie being removed by his party.

Chiang announced late Monday he would not seek re-election in the Markham-Unionville constituency after suggesting in a Chinese-language media interview that people should claim a bounty offered by Hong Kong authorities on his Conservative rival Joe Tay.

“I do not want there to be distractions in this critical moment,” Chiang, a former police officer elected in 2021, wrote in his statement.

Hong Kong police had offered a HK$1-million reward for information leading to Tay’s arrest over alleged National Security Law violations, according to the source material. Tay has been an outspoken critic of civil rights violations in Hong Kong.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed they are “looking into the matter” but have not launched a formal investigation, while human rights organization Hong Kong Watch has called for criminal charges to be considered.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney initially defended Chiang on Monday before accepting his resignation, calling the comments “deeply offensive” and “a terrible lapse of judgment.”

Separately, the Conservative Party disqualified Mark McKenzie from running in Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore after audio emerged from a 2022 podcast where he expressed support for capital punishment including “public hangings” and joked about former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau facing the death penalty.

“We fired him, he’s gone,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters Tuesday when asked about the decision, describing McKenzie’s comments as “unacceptable.”

McKenzie, who serves as a Windsor city councillor, told CTV News his remarks were “taken out of context” but acknowledged he “shouldn’t have said that.”

The federal election is scheduled for April 28. Candidate nominations close on April 7.

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