2 NDP candidates resign following unacceptable online comments

The NDP says two of its candidates have quit the federal election race with less than a week to go, promising to learn more about antisemitism.

Party spokesperson George Soule said Wednesday morning that Sidney Coles, running in Toronto-St. Paul's, and Dan Osborne, running in the Nova Scotia riding of Cumberland-Colchester, are resigning by choice, but the party supports their decisions.

Soule said they both agreed to learn more about antisemitism.

As first reported by the Toronto Star, Coles claimed on Twitter that Israel was somehow responsible for missing doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the United States last winter.

She later apologized for posting "unsubstantiated theories about vaccine supply linked to Israel," and said it was never her intent to indulge a "common antisemitic trope," the newspaper reported.

Osborne is accused of tweeting at TV personality Oprah Winfrey in 2019 asking "was Auschwitz a real place?"

Hi <a href="https://twitter.com/YaaraSaks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YaaraSaks</a> I want to offer an apology. The role of Auschwitz and the history of the holocaust is one we should never forget. Antisemitism should be confronted and stopped. I can’t recall posting that, I was 16 then and can honestly say I did not mean to cause any harm.

&mdash;@danosbornens

He responded this week, from a different account, saying he has no memory of tweeting that, but apologized.

"I want to offer an apology. The role of Auschwitz and the history of the Holocaust is one we should never forget. Antisemitism should be confronted and stopped," he said.

WATCH | Singh reacts to NDP candidates resigning

'Their comments were completely wrong, and have no place in our party' - Singh on past comments made by two NDP candidates who resigned Wednesday1 hour agoNDP Leader Jagmeet Singh faces several questions about two NDP resigning. Sidney Coles who was running in Toronto-St. Paul's and Dan Osborne who was running in the Nova Scotia riding of Cumberland-Colcheste have promised to learn more about anti-Semitism after some of their past comments resurfaced. 2:25

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called the messages "unacceptable."

"I want to be very clear: their comments were completely wrong and have no place in our party," he said during a campaign stop in Essex, Ont., on Wednesday morning.

"Those messages were completely unacceptable and the right decision was made."

Conservatives, Liberals have also lost candidates

The other two main parties have also lost candidates embroiled in scandal on the campaign trail.

Over the weekend, the Conservatives dumped their candidate in the Toronto riding of Beachesâ€"East York after past Islamophobic tweets surfaced.

"Racism and Islamophobia has no place in the Conservative Party of Canada," said Cory Hann, communications director for the Conservatives. "Our expectation is that all of our candidates conduct themselves in a respectful, tolerant manner. Consequently, we have terminated this individual as a candidate."

At the start of the campaign, another Conservative Party candidate, Troy Myers, stepped out of the race in a Nova Scotia riding following an allegation from a woman who says he sexually assaulted her at a work conference in 2019, although he denies the allegation.

Former Liberal candidate and incumbent Raj Saini stepped down from the race in the Ontario riding of Kitchener Centre after allegations of sexual harassment were made against him. Saini has denied all the allegations as "unequivocally false."

Because his name is still on the ballot, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said he would not welcome back Saini in his caucus if he wins the seat, and he would not be able to sit as a Liberal in the House of Commons. 

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