General

B.C. Conservatives ditch candidate over ‘insensitive’ comments about single mothers

Mischa Popoff

Mischa Popoff has been removed as a Conservative candidate in the upcoming B.C. election after he made comments about single mothers that the party deemed “insensitive and disrespectful.”

Popoff was the candidate for the south interior riding of Boundary-Similkameen before the Vancouver Sun revealed statements made by Popoff where he spoke out against the Missing Women Inquiry and criticized single mothers for having a child “without a man by their side.”

The Conservative Party released a statement late Thursday, saying that Popoff had been removed. The statement read:

“Mr. Popoff’s various comments were insensitive and disrespectful, particularly to women and single mothers who are, in fact, heroes to their children and their communities in many cases. We are a party that believes in a respectful airing of views. Mr. Popoff’s statements were unacceptable and he has been removed as a candidate.”

By Friday morning, the link to Popoff’s former Conservative website was dead.

The race in Boundary-Similkameen is considered a tight one, as incumbent MLA John Slater is not running again. The Tyee predicts the riding will likely go to the NDP.

Popoff is the second Conservative candidate to get the boot in a two-day period. Ian Tootill was removed as a candidate after the Vancouver Sun published a tweet from his account in October, where he posted: “Who’s really to blame? Hitler or the people who acted on his words?”

Rather than apologizing for the tweet, and other past questionable comments posted online, Tootill defended his words, telling the Sun: “I told my party when I was being vetted that I happened to have a bit of an edgy sense of humour. I think there’s not enough sense of humour in the legislature. I think that sometimes people are way too stiff, way too hard on politicians.”

Apparently, his party did not share that same sense of humour and Tootill was removed as an official Conservative candidate on Wednesday afternoon.

Tootill will continue to run as an independent candidate in Vancouver-False Creek.

The B.C. election takes place May 14.

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