Aaron Gunn kicked out of BC Liberal leadership race due to ‘diversity concerns’

“Gunn’s candidacy would be inconsistent with the BC Liberal Party’s commitment to reconciliation, diversity and acceptance for all people in British Columbia,” party officials concluded.

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Aaron Gunn, described as a far-right extremist by opponents, has been rejected to run as leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party.

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After reviewing Gunn’s statements on social media, the Leadership Elections Organizing Committee concluded that “Gunn’s candidacy would be inconsistent with the British Columbia Liberal Party’s commitment to reconciliation, diversity and acceptance of all Inhabitants of British Columbia “.

On October 9, Gunn, 31, announced his candidacy for leadership.

The NDP accused Gunn of using “transphobic, racist and sexist rhetoric” on his social media.

Some of her 80,000 Facebook followers and 500,000 YouTube subscribers have seen comments on her social media, which included criticism of education around gender diversity.

“Governments are using taxpayer money to fund universities like UBC to indoctrinate the next generation with garbage like this,” Gunn tweeted.

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Gunn, who grew up in Greater Victoria, admitted that his “tell it like they are” style may worry some, but claimed earlier this month that concerns about his views were overblown.

“I consider myself a conservative with a small ‘c’, a ‘blue conservative,'” Gunn told Postmedia. “My political philosophy is lower taxes, less waste, a smaller government, and then common sense policies that do the right thing for taxpayers.”

His work for the group “Canada Proud” drew criticism in August 2018 when Gunn, along with several members of the white supremacist group Sons of Odin, protested against the removal of the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald at Victoria City Hall.

A recommendation from the Leadership Elections Organizing Committee to reject Gunn’s candidacy application was unanimously approved Friday by Liberal Party executives.

The BC Liberal candidate previously had “the opportunity to respond to the concerns raised by some of those statements,” said LEOC President Roxanne Helme.

Gunn responded to the party’s decision in a tweet on Friday: “Today, it became clear that Conservatives, and all British Columbians who believe in common sense and free speech, are no longer welcome in the Liberal party. of British Columbia today. “

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So far, there are six approved candidates in the race in which party members will vote for a new leader in February 2022.

– with files from Lisa Cordasco

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