Hundreds of People Protested Outside Conservative Candidate Andrew Lawton’s Office. Here’s Why Local Voters are Speaking Out.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Andrew Lawton’s campaign office in St. Thomas, Ontario this weekend to speak out as the embattled Conservative candidate tries to ride it out and make it to election day.

Melanie Taylor, an organizer of the “Stand Up for Decency” rally, which was billed as a “peaceful demonstration to raise awareness about Andrew Lawton’s history,” says people came to protest Lawton in response to various controversial statements he had made in the past, while others showed up out of concern about his proximity to the Freedom Convoy.

“Everyone had a different reason for being there, and I think that’s a part of it – there’s so many reasons,” Taylor told PressProgress.

According to CTV London, nearly 200 people showed up for the peaceful rally on Talbot Street in St. Thomas, a small town south of London, Ontario.

Taylor added some of the attendees included conservative-minded community members who can’t bring themselves to support Lawton as their Member of Parliament.

Photo: Info About Andrew Lawton (Facebook)

Lawton, best known for as a right-wing media personality with True North, the Canada Strong & Free Network (formerly The Manning Centre), and hosting a podcast on Rebel Media, won the Conservative nomination for the Elgin–St.Thomas–London South riding in November over Anthony Shields despite his competitor’s endorsement from outgoing Conservative MP Karen Vecchio. Vecchio has since said she will not be endorsing anyone in the federal election.

“I’m going so far as calling it a non-endorsement,” Taylor said. “She’s actively not endorsing him.”

Lawton also drew criticism this week for being a no-show at a local all-candidates debate, drawing the attention of local Liberal candidate David Goodwin.

“This election is about showing up,” Goodwin said in his opening statement of the debate. “Who’s not showing up here tonight – or anywhere – is Andrew Lawton, and he won’t because his record shows he’s not fit to represent us in my riding of Elgin-St.Thomas-London South.”

Lawton appeared in a two minute pre-recorded video which aired at the end of the Rogers community television broadcast.

Taylor says the controversies surrounding Lawton are not fully-known in the community, but thanks to the rally and the help of a Facebook group focused on sharing information about the Conservative candidate, she thinks that’s beginning to change.

The “Info About Andrew Lawton” Facebook group attempts to circumvent Meta’s ban on Canadian news by sharing information and screenshots of national and local news articles, as well as letters to the editor, about Lawton.

Photo: Info About Andrew Lawton (Facebook)

“I’m going to be so embarrassed if we’re the riding that elects this guy to go and take a seat in the House,” Taylor said.

Taylor, who disclosed she has volunteered for her local Liberal candidate, said the anti-Lawton protest was an independent initiative and the Liberal campaign had no involvement.

This is not Lawton’s first election campaign. In 2018, Lawton ran for Doug Ford’s Ontario PCs but was derailed after numerous past statements from his time as a right-wing media personality resurfaced.

At the time, Lawton released a statement acknowledging he had been “reckless in almost all areas of my life: financially, socially, sexually and vocationally.”

The group that organized the protest at Lawton’s campaign office are not the only ones speaking out. Last month, a local Muslim group called on Poilievre to remove Lawton as a candidate over past comments about Muslims and other marginalized communities.

Lawton responded with a similar message, attributing his anti-Muslim statements to “mental illness” and stating he is “deeply ashamed of his conduct through this period.”

“Andrew Lawton’s message seems to be, ‘well if you don’t like it, too bad. I’ve said sorry’,” Taylor said. “He’s not actually repairing anything with the people in the community and that’s why they’re getting upset.”

Taylor, who previously served on the board of the local hospital, also questioned Lawton’s comments attributing his racism to mental illness.

“So he’s offended people with mental illness because they’re like, ‘no you’re just making us look bad’.”

Poilievre’s Conservatives have already removed several candidates for controversial or extreme comments, yet Lawton still remains on the ballot. Here are some of the most notable controversies the Conservative candidate has found himself in.

Said German woman deserved to be sexually assaulted because of their country’s immigration policy

On a 2016 Rebel Media podcast, Lawton said women in Germany deserved to be sexually assaulted due to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee policies.

Lawton clarified he isn’t saying “Muslim men exist to rape women,” but “if you bring in enough to dilute your demographic, you’re going to have a few bad apples.”

Defending Holocaust deniers’ right to debate

In March 2016, Lawton shared an extreme opinion about free speech on University campuses.

Lawton said he believed no subject should be closed to debate – including Holocaust denial. He clarified that while he would find that debate offensive if he was Jewish, he “darn well” hopes no one would try to stop someone from organizing a Holocaust denial debate on campus:

“If someone wanted to and I were a Jewish group on campus, would I say this is offensive? To say that the Holocaust never happened is offensive? Absolutely, I’d say that. But I would darn well hope that no group in that situation would ever say they don’t have that right to make that appeal.”

Homophobia

In 2015, Lawton was suspended from his radio show on AM980 in London for a homophobic Facebook post that stated: “Emerging Leaders used a push poll to try to paint Londoners as intolerant of the LGBTQ community. Number of sexual-orientation motivated hate crimes in Canada per year: 185. Number of HIV/AIDS infections from men having sex with men in Canada per year: 1450. Who is the real enemy?”

Lawton also previously criticized the raising of the Pride Flag at London City Hall in a letter to the editor in 2007.

Shared a petition on behalf of extremist anti-Islam group

Lawton promoted a petition that asked to remove specific parts of an emergency motion passed by London City Council after an anti-immigration protest run by the anti-Muslim far-right group Patriots of Canada Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA).

Called human rights laws an extension of political correctness

In February 2016, Lawton said Human rights laws were just an extension of “political correctness,”which he referred to as “the closest thing we have to a state religion” in Canada.

Less than a month later, on his Rebel Media show, Lawton argued that businesses should be able to discriminate by gender and race.

Active member of freedom convoy organizer group chat

As reported by PressProgress this month, Andrew Lawton was a prominent member of a Freedom Convoy group chat where media strategies were developed and coordinated between group members.