Conservative candidate dropped after advocating public hangings, suggesting death penalty for Trudeau

The federal Conservatives removed a candidate from their ballot following reports that he made comments supporting public hangings and suggested former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should get the death penalty.

A party spokesperson told 680 NewsRadio that Mark McKenzie, a city councillor in Windsor, Ont., would not be the Conservative candidate in the election.

“The comments are clearly unacceptable. Mr. McKenzie will not be the Conservative candidate,” the party said.

According to CTV News, McKenzie, who represented the riding of Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore, made the comments more than two years ago during an appearance on a comedy podcast discussing the Freedom Convoy protest.

During the Feb. 18, 2022, episode, McKenzie said he favours public hangings and wanted to bring back the electric chair. He then lumped Trudeau in with notorious serial killers like Paul Bernardo, Charles Manson, and Jeffrey Dahmer.

“I think they should bring back the electric chair as well, but again, only if you’re, like, a million per cent positive,” McKenzie said.

Liberal MP resigns in wake of RCMP probe

McKenzie’s departure comes as the federal Conservatives denounced the Liberals for candidate Paul Chiang (Markham-Unionville), who suggested a Conservative rival be turned in to the Toronto Chinese Consulate because a bounty was on him in Hong Kong.

Chiang later apologized for his remarks, calling them “deplorable.” He reached out to candidate Joe Tay (Don Valley North) for a personal apology, which Tay declined.

Although Prime Minister Mark Carney accepted Chiang’s apology and permitted him to remain a Liberal candidate, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) commenced an investigation into his remarks.

Chiang, first elected as a Liberal in 2021, issued a statement late Monday night announcing his resignation, indicating that he didn’t want to be a distraction during the race.

The federal election is set for April 28.