Conservative Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore candidate Mark McKenzie has been booted from the party following revelations he joked about Justin Trudeau receiving the death penalty.
The made the comments on a podcast in February 2022 shortly after the prime minister invoked the Emergencies Act to deal with the "Freedom Convoy" in Ottawa.
While most of the Mark and Chris Podcast has been scrubbed from the internet, the clip in question was recovered by CTV News. In it, McKenzie pleaded with viewers to "hold your politicians accountable," suggesting "more regular people" should run.
"I'm also in favour of public hangings, so I think we need to bring that back," McKenzie continued. "Like a Paul Bernardo? just f*cking kill that guy. Why are my tax dollars going to keep that guy alive? Charles Manson, people like that, Jeffrey Dahmer, you know what I'm saying? If you’re 100% certain. Epstein, you know ... Justin Trudeau."
He can be heard laughing while mentioning the prime minister's name.
Within an hour of learning about McKenzie's comments, the Conservatives announced he was no longer welcome in the party. Leader Pierre Poilievre called it "unacceptable," making it clear that, "we fired him."
McKenzie currently serves as a city councillor in Windsor. A petition has been launched demanding he resign.
"As a resident of Ward 4, I am deeply disturbed to learn that our current councillor, Mark Mckenzie, had a podcast expressing support for the death penalty and public hangings," concerned citizen Avery Tracey said while launching the petition. "This disturbing revelation is completely at odds with the sensibilities of our diverse and progressive community."
They noted that this wasn't the only problem, arguing that "emails from constituents go unanswered, critics are blocked, and the sense of representation is lost."
McKenzie has not publicly addressed the incident or his removal as a candidate.
The move comes after a Liberal candidate dropped out following backlash over his decision to encourage supporters to hand over Conservative candidate Joe Tay to the Chinese Communist Party for a bounty.
Paul Chiang apologized for telling Chinese-language media earlier this year that Tay should be kidnapped and turned over to the Chinese embassy in Toronto for a HK$1 million (CA$183,915) bounty. Tay is wanted by authorities in Hong Kong, who are under orders from Beijing, for running a pro-democracy YouTube channel in Canada.
Liberal leader Mark Carney defended Chiang at a press conference on Monday, calling him a "person of integrity" and suggesting the incident should serve as a "teachable moment." Hours later, Chiang announced he was "standing aside."
On Tuesday, Carney was grilled over the difference between his and Poilievre's handling of their respective situations, with the reporter asking if it was a "teachable moment" for him.