The Green Party is refusing to comment on a Montréal-area candidate who faced three eviction notices in recent years for unpaid rent.
Blacklock's Reporter says the party has a history of nominating unconventional candidates.
Raymond Frizzell, the Green candidate in Lac-Saint-Louis, Que., was taken to Québec’s landlord-tenant tribunal in 2014, 2017, and 2018 after failing to pay his $1,400 monthly rent.
Court records show he settled each time just before a hearing and was fined between $87 and $93 in court costs.
In 2018, his landlord sought an eviction order, complaining that “rent is frequently paid late.” The tribunal instructed Frizzell to pay on the first of each month.
Despite these financial issues, Frizzell’s official campaign biography highlights his understanding of financial struggles.
“Raymond understands the struggles of the average family, worrying about putting food on the table, paying rent and covering bills,” the biography states. “Having lived through some of the most challenging years in recent memory, he is committed to ensuring all Canadians have a future they can look forward to.”
Green leader Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.) told reporters on March 5 that the party would field a full slate of 343 candidates in the upcoming election.
“We want to run a full slate and we will so every Canadian has the option of voting Green,” she said.
The Green Party has historically struggled to fill its candidate roster, electing only four MPs in 40 years. In the 2019 election, it nominated a British Columbia vegan blogger, a Saskatchewan resident fined for keeping goats in town, and an Ontario candidate accused of drinking vodka in a Kmart washroom.
Under federal law, a candidate must be a Canadian citizen over 18 with residency anywhere in the country but does not need to live in the riding they seek to represent.
Poor credit history, debt, or bankruptcy do not disqualify candidates.
Parliament abolished property ownership requirements in 1874 and removed gender restrictions in 1919. The only Canadians barred from running for office are federal prisoners, judges, sheriffs, and those convicted of corrupt electoral practices in the past five years.