Candidates have faced criticism for ‘jokes’ about white nationalism and links to a far-right German politician’s speech.

The Tyee: As the BC Conservatives gain ground in the polls, more attention is being turned to the social media posts of candidates and party activists.

Lisa Moore takes on the reform school system with her harrowing, non-fiction telling of Jack Whalen, a boy held in solitary confinement.

Candidates’ “jokes” about white nationalism and posts highlighting an extreme far-right German politician have been uncovered, along with residential school denialism.

One member of the party’s nine-member board of directors, Lindsay Shepherd, has frequently dismissed First Nations’ investigations that have pointed to unmarked grave sites at residential schools.

In June, she suggested that immigration be cut by 95 per cent after asserting that “whites” are openly discriminated against in the labour market.

Shepherd told The Tyee that her X posts reflect her personal views and not those of the party. The Conservative Party of BC did not respond to The Tyee’s questions about Shepherd’s X posts.

Stewart Prest, a lecturer in political science at the University of British Columbia, says modern conservative politics is influenced by global trends in right-wing politics, especially from the United States and Europe, where parties have dwelled on fears around immigration and refugees.

“Those ideas are going to continue to pop up from time to time on the right side of the spectrum in Canada,” Prest told The Tyee.

“At the same time, Conservative parties and the leadership tend to be aware that there is a significant portion of the country that is deeply uncomfortable with those kinds of conversations, even if it’s phrased in terms of just, say, ‘asking questions.’”

Former BC Liberal MLA Jas Johal took a look at a range of social media posts made by Bryan Breguet, a Conservative candidate running in Vancouver-Langara, and found many comments he considered concerning. Johal now hosts a CKNW afternoon radio show.

“If the ultimate goal is to win the next election, then the party has to look at comments and tweets made by their own candidates that jeopardizes their ability to win a majority,” Johal wrote on the social media platform X, before adding a series of posts by Breguet.

There was a joke made on Nov. 22, 2023, about an interview with a woman who claimed to be dating a white nationalist. “She’s literally my wife!” Breguet had posted above the video, repeating a common internet phrase used ironically or sincerely.

And a Breguet “like” of a post by David Parker, the leader of the Take Back Alberta movement, that said “whiteness is awesome.”

There were odd comments about breastfeeding, a post about Breguet’s opposition to placing a Pride flag on a fire truck and another musing that high rates of Indigenous people in prisons could be because they “commit more crimes. Like Black people in the U.S.” Indigenous people in Canada are more than five times as likely to be imprisoned as non-Indigenous people.

The BC Conservatives have been gaining popularity since leader John Rustad took over in 2023. On Aug. 27, BC United Leader Kevin Falcon announced his party would withdraw its candidates and not compete with the Conservatives.

Many of the Conservative candidates have never held office and are not well known to voters.

Other social media sleuths have unearthed BC Conservative candidate Chris Sankey’s tweet from 2022 linking to a video of a speech by Christine Anderson, a German politician who is a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

“If you thought the Croatian leader called out Trudeau. Christine Anderson rips him apart. This isn’t a good look, Canada,” Sankey wrote alongside a link to a video of Anderson alleging Trudeau had violated the human rights of convoy protesters and shouldn’t be allowed to speak to the European Parliament.

Associations with Anderson popped up again when a social media user noticed that a campaign volunteer for West Vancouver candidate Jaclyn Aubichon had helped organize an event in Vancouver in November 2023 that featured Anderson. Neither the party nor Aubichon replied to The Tyee’s questions about the campaign volunteer. Aubichon announced on Sept. 10 she would step aside as a candidate but would still have a role in the party.

In a video with Sankey, Breguet apologized for the comment about Indigenous prisoners. Sankey, who is from the Tsimshian community of Lax Kw’alaams, said he accepted Breguet’s apology. Breguet appears to have deleted all the posts referenced in Johal’s thread.

When The Tyee asked Sankey about his tweet sharing a link to Anderson’s speech, he posted a series of comments to X calling the questions unfair and attacking the credibility of the reporter and The Tyee. He also sent a reply by email saying his tweet does not mean he admires Anderson.

Some candidates have resigned after questionable social media posts came to light. Rachael Weber, who compared 5G cellphone towers to “genocide,” was removed in early September. And Damon Scrase stepped aside after attention turned to comments about Pride participants being “degenerates.”

But BC Conservative leader Rustad has also been firm that he won’t bow to “cancel culture,” the phenomenon of people facing consequences such as job loss or being ostracized for their public or private comments.

On Sept. 9, The Tyee reported on frequent social media posts sent by Angelo Isidorou, the executive director of the BC Conservatives, to Lauren Southern, a far-right influencer whose videos often push anti-immigration and anti-Islam narratives.

In one of the messages, Isidorou tells Southern he’s watched her content “for years” and believes she’s been unjustly persecuted for her views.

In response to The Tyee’s questions, Isidorou said the reply posts don’t mean he shares Southern’s beliefs.

Shepherd has repeatedly denied being a white nationalist. She’s previously been criticized for her involvement in inviting Faith Goldy to speak at the University of Waterloo and for appearing on a podcast hosted by Jean-François Gariépy. Both Goldy and Gariépy have frequently expressed white supremacist views.

Prest said right-wing parties in Canada are walking a fine line. They need to continue to appeal to their traditional, economy-focused constituents but also make sure they’re not shutting the door on Canadians who have been drawn to a range of online content that might include opposition to vaccine policies, conspiracy theories about the World Economic Forum or fears about transgender health care and education.

In the United States Donald Trump has constantly raised fears about immigration and illegal migrants, often with barely concealed dehumanizing, racial overtones. For example, during his election debate with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, Trump repeated a discredited claim that Haitian immigrants have been eating pet cats and dogs.

In Europe, far-right parties have been able to push policy changes by playing on fears and resentment related to immigration.

In 2016, voters in Britain voted to exit the European Union, with immigration being a main concern. In 2024, a far-right party in France that had campaigned on concerns about the rising cost of living, quality of government services and immigration initially surged in popularity before losing to a left-wing coalition.

The federal Conservatives have distanced themselves from figures like Anderson, the far-right German politician who toured Canada in November 2023. According to the BBC, members of Anderson’s party, the Alternative for Germany, have made comments denying the need for a Holocaust memorial, used terms like “Lügenpresse” (lying press) that are associated with the Nazis, have opposed multiculturalism and have called for stricter controls on immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.

When three Conservative MPs were photographed posing with Anderson, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s spokesperson issued a statement denouncing her.

“Christine Anderson’s views are vile and have no place in our politics. The MPs were not aware of this visiting Member of the European Parliament’s opinions, and they regret meeting with her,” the party said in a statement.

“Frankly, it would be better if Anderson never visited Canada in the first place. She and her racist, hateful views are not welcome here.”

In response, Anderson denied expressing racist or hateful views.

Prest said the federal Conservatives know they need to appeal to newcomers to Canada and diaspora communities to win an election.

He noted that when the former Conservative government under Stephen Harper introduced dog-whistle policies like a “barbaric practices hotline,” his government faced sharp criticism and lost the subsequent 2015 election.

“The Conservatives federally do seem to understand quite well that the path to victory for Mr. Harper was actually involved in bringing in a diverse set of supporters, including recent arrivals to Canada,” Prest said.

Rustad has spoken positively about immigration, saying the province needs more skilled workers to fill jobs in industries like home building.

But anger about immigration has been growing in Canada, and researchers and communities have tracked a growing number of racist incidents and hateful comments online, often directed at South Asian people.

“I think the BC Conservatives are going to try to skirt around the issue as much as they can,” Prest said.

By Jen St. Denis, The Tyee

Jen St. Denis is a reporter with The Tyee covering civic issues. Find her on X @JenStDen.