The Liberal Party of Canada has revoked the candidacy of communist Rod Loyola in the Edmonton Gateway riding after a 2009 video surfaced showing him praising Hamas and Hezbollah, the National Post reported Thursday.
Loyola, a former Alberta NDP MLA for Edmonton-Ellerslie since 2015, was filmed at an anti-NATO protest as a rapper with the group People’s Poets, performing under the stage name Rosouljah. In the video, he called the two groups — designated as terrorist organizations in Canada “movements for national liberation, not terrorists,” and said they were “trying to stand up for their people.”
The Liberal campaign acted swiftly after the National Post sought comment on the video.
“Mr. Loyola is no longer our candidate for Edmonton Gateway,” Liberal campaign spokesperson Isabella Orozco-Madison said in an email Thursday evening.
Loyola had launched his campaign earlier this week, touting Liberal Leader Mark Carney as “the man of the hour” to counter U.S. President Donald Trump. The decision to drop him comes as the federal election, set for April 28, heats up, with the Liberals facing scrutiny over candidate vetting.
Loyola had also previously drawn criticism for supporting autocratic / communist leaders like Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.
The move leaves the Liberals without a candidate in Edmonton Gateway, where Loyola was set to face Conservative Tim Uppal, a former cabinet minister under Stephen Harper.
