OTTAWA –
Pierre Poalievre denounced the “white swap theory”, which was considered a motive for the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, as “ugly and disgusting hatred.”
In a statement to the Canadian Press, the Conservative leader’s high-ranking candidate condemned the attack, in which police claimed a white gunman shot a supermarket in a neighborhood with a majority of blacks, killing 10 people and injuring three others.
U.S. law enforcement is investigating the shooter’s online publications, which include the conspiracy theory that there is a conspiracy to reduce the influence of white people.
Believers say the so-called “white swap” is achieved through both immigration and demography, with whites having lower birth rates than other populations, and some say it is organized by Jews.
Poilievre responded to a tweet from fellow rival Patrick Brown, who said Pat King, leader of the February Freedom Convoy, which Poilievre and many other Conservative lawmakers backed, had spread the conspiracy theory online.
Brown called on his opponent to “condemn this hatred.”
“For Patrick Brown to use this atrocity is sloppy – even for him,” Poalievre said in a statement Monday. “I supported peaceful and law-abiding truck drivers protesting their livelihoods and freedoms, while condemning all those who break the law, misbehave or block critical infrastructure.
“I also condemn Pat King and his ugly remarks.
In response to Poilievre’s remarks, a Brown spokesman accused him of “reluctantly making a statement when asked instead of shouting denunciations from any platform you have.”
“Flirting with these dangerous elements is doing the vast majority of Conservative members a disservice and will cost us the next election if we are allowed to run,” Chisolm Pottier wrote.
Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen also issued a statement Monday calling racism disgusting.
“The conspiracy theory of the ‘white swap’ is being spread by racists and fanatics, and conservatives unequivocally condemn this kind of thinking,” she said.
Bergen continued that “as long as Canadians are free to protest and demonstrate, this does not include illegal blocking or occupation of infrastructure, nor does it include illegal hate speech.”
This Canadian Press report was first published on May 16, 2022.
– With files from the Associated Press
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