Ottawa

Five unfortunate ends to federal political careers

In the wake of a weekend of remarkable resignations, we look at other candidates who abruptly and notoriously ended their runs to become members of Parliament

Jerry Bance, Conservative candidate for the Scarborough-Rouge Park riding in Toronto, is seen here emptying out a customer's coffee mug, into which he reportedly urinated, in this still image from a video broadcast of CBC's Marketplace which aired on March 2, 2012. Bance issued a statement apologizing for his behaviour. (CBC Marketplace, The Canadian Press)

Jerry Bance, Conservative candidate for the Scarborough—Rouge Park riding in Toronto, is seen here emptying out a customer’s coffee mug, into which he reportedly urinated, in this still image from a video broadcast of CBC’s Marketplace, which aired on March 2, 2012. Bance issued a statement apologizing for his behaviour. (CBC Marketplace, The Canadian Press)

Each election brings some number of candidate resignations or oustings. It is inevitable: With more than a thousand candidates across the four major parties, it stands to reason that someone will be found to have said or done something that is politically inconvenient. So far in this campaign, candidates have resigned over inflammatory tweets, a controversial Facebook posting, unfortunate online commentary and an outstanding debt.

But for all those who have departed, Canada has still maybe never seen anything like this past weekend, when the Conservatives lost, first, a candidate who was caught on tape peeing into a stranger’s coffee mug, and then, shortly thereafter, jettisoned a candidate who had videotaped himself faking an orgasm and impersonating a mentally disabled person.

Those might stand alone in their unfortunateness. But here are five other noteworthy endings for political candidates’ runs from recent years.

    Chris Lloyd, Papineau, 2015 (Conservatives)

    Lloyd won the Conservative nomination in Justin Trudeau’s riding in February and remained the candidate until May, when it was revealed that his candidacy was an act of performance art.

    Ryan Dolby, Elgin-Middlesex-London, 2011 (NDP)

    Dolby quit less than a week into the campaign and threw his support behind the Liberal candidate, explaining that he wanted to make sure the Conservative incumbent, Joe Preston, didn’t win the riding. It’s perhaps hard to remember now, but, in that first week of the 2011 campaign, Michael Ignatieff was getting positive reviews and Jack Layton seemed to be struggling. A month after Dolby’s resignation, his replacement as the NDP candidate finished second to Preston, nearly doubling the Liberal candidate’s vote.

    André Forbes, Manicouagan, 2011 (Liberals)

    Forbes was apparently dumped after revelations of controversial comments about Aboriginals and his founding of a group called the Association for the Rights of Whites. But Forbes said the comments were not his, and he refused to resign; as a result, his name remained on the ballot. He ultimately finished a distant fourth with 1,882 votes.

    Dale Saip, Delta—Richmond East, 2011 (Conservative)

    Saip won the Conservative nomination on March 21, 2011. Three days later, his previous financial difficulties were detailed in a Vancouver Sun report. Shortly thereafter, he was no longer the Conservative candidate. Saip said he’d disclosed everything to the party, but was told he was not welcome.

    Dana Larsen, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, 2008 (NDP)

    Known for his marijuana advocacy, Larsen quit amid questions about his ties to a company that sold coca seeds, and videos that reportedly showed him driving under the influence and consuming hallucinogenic drugs.

     

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