Conservatives oust another Quebec candidate after he accuses Polytechnique survivor of exploiting tragedy
Simon Payette, who was running in the riding of Berthier–Maskinongé, had criticized Liberal candidate Nathalie Provost’s gun-control advocacy in a series of posts.
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Hours after appearing at a campaign event Friday on protecting women from violence, a Conservative candidate in Quebec was dropped by the party after social media posts surfaced of him attacking Polytechnique massacre survivor and Liberal candidate Nathalie Provost.
Simon Payette, who was running in the riding of Berthier–Maskinongé, had criticized Provost’s gun-control advocacy in a series of posts, as first reported by Radio-Canada, including one accusing her of exploiting the 1989 mass shooting at Montreal’s École Polytechnique.
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“You are very smart to use this tragedy to fuel this anti-gun extremist bribery business,” Payette wrote, according to Radio-Canada.
In another post, he added: “You’re lucky that many voters are directly descended from a bloodline of the first settlers.”
A spokesperson for the Conservatives confirmed in a statement to The Gazette that the candidate will not be running for the party.
“This individual’s conduct is completely inappropriate and cannot be excused,” the spokesperson said.
Earlier Friday, Payette had appeared alongside party leader Pierre Poilievre at a campaign stop in Trois-Rivières where Poilievre pledged tougher sentences for perpetrators of family and intimate partner violence.
Payette is the latest candidate to be dropped by the Conservative party. Mark McKenzie, a Conservative hopeful in Windsor, was removed on Tuesday after CTV News obtained an audio recording of him calling for former prime minister Justin Trudeau to face the death penalty.
That same day, Stéfan Marquis, who had declared his candidacy in the Montreal riding of Laurier–Sainte-Marie, was removed after The Gazette inquired about a series of controversial posts on X. The posts included a vaccine conspiracy theory involving Bill Gates and pro-Kremlin rhetoric about the war in Ukraine.
Lourence Singh of the British Columbia riding of New Westminster—Burnaby—Maillardville and Don Patel in the Toronto-area riding of Etobicoke North were also dropped during the week. The reason why Singh was dropped was not disclosed. Patel was dropped after he endorsed a social media post that supported the idea of deporting some people to India, the party said.
Other federal parties have also faced controversy over conduct in recent days.
Former Liberal candidate Paul Chiang, running in the Greater Toronto Area, withdrew from the race after suggesting his Conservative opponent, Joe Tay, be handed over to the Chinese consulate in exchange for a bounty.
The NDP dismissed a campaign volunteer this week after a video surfaced showing the person — who is also an OnlyFans creator — making what the party called “disrespectful” comments about the Holocaust.
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