A Conservative candidate in the Burnaby North–Seymour riding has been kicked out of the party after a number of videos surfaced showing her making homophobic comments.
Two videos surfaced on Friday featuring Heather Leung talking rather derogatorily about LGBTQ 2+ rights.
“These homosexual people, they cannot reproduce the next generation… They recruit more people and more people into their camp,” she can be heard saying in a video from 2011 taken by the Burnaby Now.
“Recent media reports have brought to light offensive comments made by Ms. Leung saying ‘homosexuals recruit’ children and describing the sexual orientation of the LGBTQ community as ‘perverted,’” a statement from the party says.
Leung’s forced exit comes after Svend Robinson, who is the NDP candidate in the riding and was Canada’s first openly gay MP – called on Conservative leader Andrew Scheer to kick her out of the party.
“How can Scheer allow Heather Leung to run as a candidate under the Conservative banner when her words show her hatred for LGBTQ2S Canadians?” he asked in a news release Friday.
Although likely the last, this wasn’t the first time Leung made headlines this campaign. Comedian and political satirist Rick Mercer drew attention to a post on her campaign Facebook page last month, showing him and one of his quotes that falsely made him appear to endorse the Tories. A party official said at the time the person who posted it was not involved on the local campaign.
READ MORE: Rick Mercer calls out Conservative candidate in B.C. for fake meme
Weeks earlier, another photo was posted to the same Facebook page showing Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau on the edge of a cliff, with his campaign slogan, “CHOOSE FORWARD.”
The deadline for the Conservative Party to register a new candidate has passed.
@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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