Don’t worry, Canada: Here are the 111 most embarrassing Conservative candidates this election

Some have floated the idea Canada’s Conservatives would be better off without Harper.

But would they?

A lot of candidates have found themselves making headlines this election for all the wrong reasons: from slips of the tongue to bouts of anger to paranoia about others all the way to weird stories about election signs.

Is Harper really the problem? Or are these symptomatic of something deeper with the Conservatives?

Here are 111 examples to consider. Make your own conclusions:

Anger

Deepak Obhrai yelled at everyone at an all-candidates meeting. He says he was just trying to get his point across.

Wiliam Moughrabi mused about punching people “in the face.” 

Ryan Leef got into a physical altercation with a young woman who tampered with his election sign. 

And Robert Strickland told a young person to “gain some experience in life” before talking to him about politics.

Paranoia

Joe Daniel warned us about the ‘Muslim agenda’. 

Marilyn Gladu thought Muslims want to “kill everybody.”

And Larry Miller is worried about, um, Communist revolutions. 

Gender trouble

Jagdish Grewal touts the unconscionable practice of gay conversion therapies.  

Konstantin Toubis has some very objectionable opinions on women’s sexuality, latent homosexuality and “being a man.” 

And Joan Crockatt said a bill protecting transgender rights doesn’t “help move us forward.”

Lacking empathy

Stephen Harper said an inquiry wasn’t “on his radar.” And he’d hate it if we “committ sociology” on the issue.

Bob Zimmer said “lack of a job” is to blame for MMIW.

John Cummins blamed the victims.

Deepak Obhrai kept yelling that “we all know what happened.” 230 families would beg to differ.

And David Wilks thought it’s “people that murder people.” He doesn’t understand why gender is part of the MMIW discussion? 

Being weird about election signs 

Tim Laidler photoshopped his name over another Conservative candidate’s election sign.

Bal Gosal’s volunteers were filmed wearing “Team Gosal” jackets tearing down election signs. 

And what is up with these four candidates?

Half-baked ideas 

Buddy Ford wanted to run for a party pushing criminal penalties for possessing pot. He was busted in the past for possessing a joint. 

And Marilyn Gladu said that although marijuana leads to “violence and death,” she also wants to decriminalize it.  

Slips of the tongue

Ron Liepert doesn’t think civil liberties and freedoms are a part of the country we live in.  

Blair Dale decided to explain rap lyrics on the internet. 

And Andy Wang said the solution to youth unemployment is working for free. 

Bad decisions

Jerry Bance peed in a cup. It was not his own cup too.

Tim Dutaud filmed prank calls pretending to have a mental illness and having a bad reaction to Viagra.

Rick Dykstra was accused of partying with underaged girls at a nightclub, and a member of his team allegedly tried bribing them into silence; Dykstra denied the claim.

Augustin Ali Kitoko complimented the NDP. He was promptly dropped as a Conservative candidate.

Soheil Eid compared the NDP to the Nazis.

Walter Pamic posted dozens of anti-union tirades on Facebook. His company also received $400,000 in government contracts since announcing he’s running for office.

And Gilles Guibord doubled down, going sexist and racist at the same time.

Policing women’s bodies

Gordon Giesbrecht managed to draw a link between abortion and 9/11 plus the holocaust.

Michael Kram suggested he’d figure out how to push his anti-choice agenda “once we see how many pro-life MPs are elected”

And these 86 Conservative candidates were endorsed by an anti-choice group for their support on various issues, ranging from pledges to support legislation against women’s reproductive rights to declaring there are no circumstances under which “a woman should have access to an abortion”: 

1. Blake Richards
2. Kevin Sorenson
3. Len Webber
4. Jason Kenney
5. Mike Lake
6. Chris Warkentin
7. Rachael Harder
8. Jim Hillyer
9. Garnett Genuis
10. Michael Cooper
11. Ed Fast
12. Mark Strahl
13. Nina Grewal
14. Ron Cannan
15. Mark Warawa
16. Bob Zimmer
17. Alice Wong
18. Marshall Neufeld
19. John Weston
20. Lawrence Toet
21. Jim Bell
22. Candice Bergen
23. Ted Falk
24. James Bezan
25. Francois Catellier
26. Gordon Giesbrecht
27. Rob Moore
28. Tilly O’Neill-Gordon
29. John Williamson
30. Rodney Weston
31. Gail Shea
32. Costas Menegakis
33. Alex Nuttall
34. Jodie Jenkins
35. Kyle Seeback
36. Phil McColeman
37. Larry Miller
38. Pierre Poilievre
39. David Van Kesteren
40. Jeff Watson
41. Toyin Dada
42. David Sweet
43. Pierre Lemieux
44. Vincent Samuel
45. Daryl Kramp
46. Ben Lobb
47. Stephen Woodworth
48. Harold Albrecht
49. Marian Gagne
50. Bev Shipley
51. Scott Reid
52. Gord Brown
53. Suzanna Dieleman
54. Paul Calandra
55. Jobson Easow
56. Bob Saroya
57. Julius Tiangson
58. Wladyslaw Lizon
59. Stella Ambler
60. Andy Wang
61. Lois Brown
62. Dean Allison
63. Adam Moulton
64. Royal Galipeau
65. Colin Carrie
66. David Piccini
67. Cheryl Gallant
68. Bryan Hayes
69. Roxanne James
70. Chuck Konkel
71. Leslyn Lewis
72. Roshan Nallaratnam
73. Guy Lauzon
74. Fred Slade
75. Richard Harvey
76. Peter Van Loan
77. Gerry Ritz
78. Kelly Block
79. David Anderson
80. Rob Clarke
81. Tom Lukiwski
82. Andrew Scheer
83. Michael Kram
84. Randy Donauer
85. Brad Trost
86. Cathay Wagantall