Social conservative Tanya Granic Allen will no longer be a candidate for the Progressive Conservative party, Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford said in a statement on Saturday.
In the statement, Ford said Granic Allen’s characterization of certain issues has been “irresponsible.”
“We are a party comprised of people with diverse views that if expressed responsibly we would respect,” he said.
The decision came hours after the Liberal Party released an edited video showing Granic Allen “spewing hatred and homophobia" in 2014.
In a 2013 post discussing Quebec’s proposal for a charter of values, Granic Allen described niqabs and burkas as “masks” that cover the face.
“I don’t believe people should dress like ninjas when going for an afternoon stroll,” the online post said. “I don’t believe that people should dress like bank robbers when going to vote. My daughter loves wearing a spider-man mask, but I forbid her from wearing it out in public.”
Another post in the same year said an attack on two teenage girls in Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean was “yet another reason not vacation in a Muslim country.”
She also tweeted in 2014 that the Queen of England should oppose gay marriage.
After these online posts surfaced last month, a party spokesperson Melanie Paradis said the comments “do not reflect what we stand for” noting that they were made “prior to this individual (Granic Allen) being a candidate.”
In an interview with The Canadian Press at the beginning of April this year, Granic Allen, who is a parental rights and anti-abortion advocate, defended the online comments.
“My concern… has always been about the freedom of religion, the freedom of conscience and freedom of expression and protecting those very important rights, which is why I opposed the banning of the niqab even thought I personally take issue with it,” she told The Canadian Press.
The online comments were condemned by the Liberals and New Democrats.
At the time, Ford said Granic Allen’s comments do not reflect his own views or those of the Progressive Conservative party.
On April 21, Granic Allen defeated Natalia Kusendova, Qadeer Shah and Rosemer Enverga to secure the party’s nomination to run as a candidate in the riding of Mississauga Centre, a re-constituted riding that consists of four neighbouring districts as part of the province expanding the legislature with 15 additional seats.
Ford tweeted his congratulations to Granic Allen last month calling her a friend.
On Saturday, Ford announced that Kusendova will replace Granic Allen as the PC candidate in the riding.
“She is a welcome addition to our strong and diverse PC team,” he said.
At the PC leadership convention on March 10, Granic Allen was the only defeated candidate to stand alongside Ford as he made his victorious speech.
More than 80 per cent of her support from that night went to Ford on the subsequent ballot, a breakdown of the results showed.
In a tweet on Saturday, Granic Allen said she is "disappointed" she will no longer be a PC candidate.
"I'll have more to say about this and Ontario politics in the coming days," she said.
The provincial election is set to take place June 7.
