Conservative Yukon candidate booted for opposing vaccine mandates

Conservative election candidate Jonas J. Smith was disallowed from running for the Conservative Party of Canada in the upcoming federal election. He opposed implementing mandated workplace vaccinations and vaccine passport requirements.

Smith was informed of the "unilateral" and "final decision" by the central campaign on Thursday. He was acclaimed as the party's candidate in Yukon last month.

"This comes as shocking news to me, my family, my local campaign team and my thousands of supporters across the territory,” said Smith. “With an election call imminent, this is devastating news for the conservative movement in the Yukon and I fear will have repercussions across the country."

Smith narrowly lost to outgoing Liberal MP Larry Bagnell in 2019, who announced his retirement after more than two decades in federal politics.

Liberal President of the Privy Council Dominic LeBlanc announced during a press conference on Friday that the Trudeau Liberals would move forward with mandating vaccines for federal employees. Employees must receive at least two doses of approved vaccine for COVID-19.

Conservative leader Erin O'Toole wrote in a statement Friday that "Vaccines are the most important tool in the fight against COVID-19."

"Conservatives support Canadians' right to determine their own health choices," he wrote. "We are in a crisis and Canadians expect reasonable measures, such as rapid testing for those who are not vaccinated, to protect Canadians, especially the most vulnerable."

Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra said during the same press conference on Friday that unvaccinated Canadians will no longer be able to travel interprovincially via train, plane, or large marine vessels. He added that those who are unable to get vaccinated will still be able to go through testing and screening measures.

"I believe in standing up for the rights of all minorities, including those of the unvaccinated – be it for medical, religious or personal reasons – and that our country needs less discrimination, not more," wrote Smith.

"Generations of Canadians have fought for our Section 15 Charter rights, as well as freedom of choice when it comes to matters of bodily-autonomy, and these proposed vaccination-related restrictions will vastly alter what kind of country our children will inherit."

The Counter Signal reported that Ted Laking, the Yukon National Councillor, supposedly resigned his position Friday morning, according to multiple sources within the party. It is not known whether his alleged resignation was related to Smith's removal from the party.

At a news conference last month, Smith said the Liberal Party’s Yukon candidate and Smith’s sole declared competitor to date, Dr. Brendan Hanley, in his previous capacity as the Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, had himself acknowledged that some people can’t, or won’t, get vaccinated for a variety of reasons, and that all Canadians should treat each other with respect.

"In an economy struggling to recover, partially because of a shortage of skilled workers, it is unconscionable to shame or threaten to dismiss employees over their confidential medical status, particularly in those industries and populations that are already experiencing high vaccine uptake among their majorities and as such are already at a low risk of viral transmission or severe infection," Smith added.

"We don’t tolerate that type of discrimination for a whole host of other known health risks, so there has to be a better way to protect our country’s most vulnerable without restricting the movements and livelihoods of perfectly healthy Canadians within their own country.

"A two-tiered society is not constitutional, and it is certainly not normal."

Smith said he and his family are grateful for all the support and encouragement they received across Canada. "I would now ask people to respect our privacy at this time so that we may begin to process this significant turn of events," he concluded.

"God Bless Canada. God Bless the Yukon."