Conservative candidate Blair Dale dropped after remarks about women, abortion surface
The Conservative Party has lost another of its candidates after remarks he made about women, abortion and racial minorities surfaced today.
Blair Dale, who was expected to carry the party banner in the Newfoundland riding of Bonavista-Burin-Trinity, has been removed as a candidate, Conservative Party spokesman Kory Teneycke told CBC News.
Before launching his bid to become a member of Parliament, Dale was working in Ottawa as a political staffer for retiring Alberta Conservative MP LaVar Payne.
The move comes after blogger Robert Jago — who goes by the screen name "rjjago" — posted a summary of comments Dale made on social media platforms including Facebook, Google Plus and the online dating site OkCupid.
Jago is the same blogger who exposed Tim Dutaud, the former Conservative candidate for Toronto-Danforth, who was dropped by the party after he was linked to a series of offensive and embarrassing online videos.
Many of the comments Jago unearthed were sexually explicit.
Notably, Dale's comments touched on racial issues in popular culture. In one YouTube comment, allegedly posted by Dale, he took issue with the call for more people of colour in Hollywood films.
"If you want to see more of your race, stop supporting things that aren't about it," he told another poster.
Dale said abortion should be limited to women who are victims of rape. He said abortion should not be an option for "irresponsible" people.
Dale, a native Newfoundlander, also signalled that he was open to dating people who did drugs, as long as they were of the "soft" variety, namely marijuana.
Dale was acclaimed to run in Bonavista-Burin-Trinity on Sept. 11. The press release issued by the party at the time praised him as a local with "strong family values, and a hard work ethic."
Blogger angry Tories turfed Dale
After news broke that Dale had been dumped by the Conservatives, Jago penned an open letter on his blog condemning the party's move.
"I've never been as angry at the party as I am now," Jago writes. "They're backstabbing their own candidates — the people who give so much to them.
"I'm not trying to get candidates fired. I want these people to stay on the ballot. I've joked about it, yes, but when asked directly, I've been clear that these people represent the Conservative Party, the party should wear their candidacies around its neck, this is what [being a] Conservative means in 2015.
"I want them on the ballot."
All parties have until Sept. 28 to name their candidates for the federal election on Oct. 19.
