Conservative Party removes Toronto candidate over social media posts

A man is silhouetted walking past a Conservative Party logo before the opening of the Party's national convention in Halifax, Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

TORONTO -

The Conservative Party has dropped its candidate for the Beaches-East York riding after her alleged Islamophobic social media posts resurfaced Friday.

A spokesperson for the party confirmed to CP24 Friday evening that Lisa Robinson had been removed as the Conservative candidate for that Toronto riding.

“Racism and Islamophobia has no place in the Conservative Party of Canada. Our expectation is that all of our candidates conduct themselves in a respectful, tolerant manner. Consequently, we have terminated this individual as a candidate,” Corey Hann, the party’s communications director, said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Nathan Erskine-Smith, the Liberal candidate for Beaches-East York, posted screenshots of Robinson’s alleged Islamophobic tweets and retweets.

Erskine-Smith said it was “unacceptable that the Conservative Party is giving a platform to someone with these views.”

Robinson is a real estate negotiation expert and a senior real estate specialist, according to her website.

Using her current Twitter account, Robinson responded to Erskine-Smith’s post.

“This account is fake and in 2018 I reported it to the Durham police. I will be signing an attestation confirming these facts,” she tweeted.

“Sharing this false information is defamatory and must be removed immediately. Alternatively, you’ll be getting a libel notice shortly.”