Conservatives dump Toronto candidate over Islamophobic tweets

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

A spokesperson confirmed that Lisa Robinson will not run under the party's banner in the riding.

Breaking. <a href="https://twitter.com/CPC_HQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CPC_HQ</a> are dumping Lisa Robinson as their candidate in Beaches-East York due to tweets shared by <a href="https://twitter.com/beynate?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@beynate</a> earlier today. <a href="https://t.co/0RRvH5DYfa">https://t.co/0RRvH5DYfa</a>

&mdash;@DavidWCochrane

"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."

Earlier Friday, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, the Liberal candidate in the riding who is also the incumbent, published a tweet with a number of screen shots from Robinson's feed, including one of an Islamophobic tweet.

“Ward 1 city councillor candidate” is none other than Lisa Robinson, the Conservative candidate in Beaches-East York. <br><br>Our community has faced down hate too many times already, and it’s unacceptable that the Conservative Party is giving a platform to someone with these views. <a href="https://t.co/HKgk4Dcn3w">pic.twitter.com/HKgk4Dcn3w</a>

&mdash;@beynate

"Our community has faced down hate too many times already, and it's unacceptable that the Conservative Party is giving a platform to someone with these views," Erskine-Smith wrote in the tweet.

A spokesperson for the Conservatives told CBC News that Robinson initially denied the tweets were hers, and that her story kept changing. The party disavowed  her as a candidate as a result.

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