A Toronto-area NDP candidate has resigned because of postings he made on Facebook.
Candidate Andrew McKeever released a statement through the NDP on Friday, saying he was resigning effective immediately. He was running in the riding of Durham.
"Because of the repetition of comments I made before becoming a candidate, comments that I have already apologized for and profoundly regret, I can no longer continue as a candidate," he said.
Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said the increased use of blogs has come back to bite would-be politicians who "weren't careful" when expressing personal opinions.
Before the advent of the internet, opinions that are now often posted on blogs would not have been as widely disseminated.
The problems with politically charged comments are especially risky when candidates are nominated at the last minute with little in the way of background checks, he said.
Liberal called for resignation
Durham Liberal candidate Bryan Ransom called for McKeever to resign last month because of his postings. In a release in September, Ransom cited a long list of postings he described as "offensive and irresponsible remarks [that] were intentionally designed to silence his critics."
According to Ransom's release, McKeever used Facebook postings to attack Krystalline Kraus, who supported U.S. war resisters in her own Facebook postings.
McKeever "wrote Facebook posts using obscenities and threatening violence against a woman who had a different viewpoint than his own," the Liberal alleged.
Durham is held by Conservative Bev Oda.
At least four NDP candidates, including McKeever, have resigned or been expelled, as well as at least one Conservative and two Liberals.
The name of a candidate who resigns after the Sept. 22 nomination deadline will still appear on the ballot, according to Elections Canada rules.
