A Liberal Party candidate in Quebec City who drew fire for past comments about Mohawk warriors in the Oka Crisis has resigned from the federal election campaign.

Simon Bédard, a former radio host, tendered his resignation as candidate in the Quebec riding after Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion asked him to withdraw from the race, according to the party website.

"Mr. Bédard agrees that the statements he made regarding First Nations people are not compatible with the beliefs and values of the Liberal Party of Canada," Dion said in the online statement.

During the 1990 Oka Crisis, Bédard suggested Canadian soldiers end the standoff in Kanesatake by "cleaning out" Mohawk warriors.

"You go in there with the army, and you clean it all up. Fifty deaths, 100 deaths, 125 deaths, it's done. We can put that behind us and go on," he said during his CJRP radio show, 'Action Réaction.'

He expressed his opinion after provincial police Cpl. Marcel Lemay was killed during a tense moment in the two and a half month summer standoff.

The crisis was sparked by a land dispute between Kanesatake Mohawks and the nearby town of Oka.

Bédard stood by his comments earlier this week, when asked about them during an interview with Quebec City newspaper Le Soleil.

He said a forceful army intervention 17 years ago would have resolved the situation on the Mohawk Nation territory once and for all.

Bédard added that if elected, he would lobby for concerted action to clean up the "underground mafia" in Kanesatake, a community southwest of Montreal.

He was forced to backpedal a few days later, saying Wednesday his opinions had changed.

The 65-year-old candidate also indicated he had no intention of pulling out of the campaign race over the comments.

Bédard had scheduled a Thursday morning press conference with Max Gros-Louis, Grand Chief of the Huron-Wendake Nation to publicly apologize for his comments.

But he postponed that meeting, saying he was going to reflect on his political future.

With files from the Canadian Press