A Windsor city councillor given the boot Tuesday as the Conservative Party of Canada’s candidate in the federal election said he’s formally withdrawn from the race — and vows to remain on municipal council.
An Elections Canada spokesperson told the Star that Mark McKenzie could have stayed on the April 28 ballot for Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore, but the Ward 4 representative said he officially bowed out on Wednesday.
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The Conservatives announced they no longer wanted him as their party’s representative after controversial podcast comments he made in 2022 about the death penalty recently resurfaced.
McKenzie told the Star he only agreed to formally exit the race after the party agreed to pay vendors for his campaign signs and stakes and to return donations to his supporters.
“I thought that was fair,” McKenzie said on Thursday. ” I don’t want anyone missing out on money. I didn’t want to be on the hook for anything.”
In the February 2022 podcast McKenzie spoke out “in favour of public hangings” and appeared to list then-prime minister Justin Trudeau on a list of people he thought should be executed.
McKenzie this week called his comments “tasteless” but emphasized “it was all as a joke” on a comedy podcast.
“The comments are clearly unacceptable. Mr. McKenzie will not be the Conservative candidate,” a Conservative campaign spokesperson said in an email on Wednesday.
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The Star asked the Conservative Party of Canada who it might select to replace McKenzie but had not received a response as of Thursday print deadline.
Elections Canada nominations for candidates to be on the ballot close at 2 p.m. on Monday.
Some in Windsor are now pushing for McKenzie to also quit municipal politics.
As of Thursday morning, nearly 600 people had signed a virtual petition calling for McKenzie to resign from Windsor city council.
Comments on the petition call McKenzie’s comments about the death penalty “inappropriate” and “just plain wrong.”
“No one who would openly call for the execution of a sitting Prime Minister has any business serving in an elected role, purporting to represent us or our values,” wrote Irene Moore Davis in a comment on the change.org petition.
“We need to tone down the violent and hateful rhetoric in our society, not reward supposed ‘leaders’ who engage in it.”
McKenzie said he will continue to serve on city council.
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“This was all done before I even thought about running for council,” he said of his controversial podcast comments. “It came out during the campaign as well, from some individuals, and I was still elected.”
The Conservatives’ national leadership bypassed the traditional nomination process when it appointed McKenzie for Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore instead of letting local party members vote for their candidate.
Had McKenzie not officially withdrawn his candidacy, he would still have appeared on the ballot under the Conservative Party name, according to information provided to the Star by Elections Canada spokesperson Dugald Maudsley.
If a confirmed candidate does not withdraw, they remain on the ballot under their affiliated party, “even if they are no longer in a position to represent a party in the House of Commons if they win,” which would be the case if the party no longer supports them, or if they pass away, Maudsley said.
“In those cases, the votes for that candidate would still be counted but would be more-or-less ‘void,’” he said.
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Deadlines for candidate nominations, he said, “are important as they allow Elections Canada the time necessary to print and distribute ballots in time for advance and election day polls.”
In 2022, McKenzie narrowly won Ward 4 with 1,285 votes (22.29 per cent of the total), besting runner-up Jake Rondot by 28 votes.
“In a nutshell, there is no ‘recall’ mechanism given to municipalities for removal of a councillor from elected office,” city clerk Steve Vlachodimos said in an email to the Star.
Without specifically addressing McKenzie’s comments, Vlachodimos said the integrity commissioner ultimately determines whether the city’s code of conduct has been violated. If that happens, a report would be presented to city council at a public meeting.
The Star reached out to the City of Windsor’s integrity commissioner, Jeffrey Abrams of Toronto-based Principles Integrity, and asked whether a councillor can be penalized for speech, as well as what kind of speech might result in sanctions, and whether a councillor can be penalized for comments made prior to election.
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“We are unable to respond to your questions,” Abrams responded in an email.
The city’s code of conduct for members of council and local boards makes no mention of speech. It has a short paragraph on discreditable conduct that says councillors have a duty to treat one another, staff, and the public “appropriately and without abuse, bullying, or intimidation,” but it does not appear to address comments like McKenzie’s.
Vlachodimos said municipalities are limited to what penalties they can impose on councillors who have contravened the code of conduct. In accordance with Ontario’s Municipal Act, councillors can receive a reprimand and/or a suspension of pay for up to 90 days.
“Members of council are accountable to the public through the four-year election process,” Vlachodimos said.
“Between elections, they may become disqualified and lose their seat if, for example, they are convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada or for failing to declare a conflict of personal interest under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.”
The next municipal election is scheduled for Oct. 26, 2026.
Including McKenzie, the Conservatives had dropped four of its federal election candidates this week as of Wednesday. The others are Lourence Singh for New Westminster—Burnaby—Maillardville, Stefan Marquis for Laurier-Sainte-Marie, and Don Patel for Etrobicoke North.
The Liberal Party of Canada parted ways with candidate Thomas Keeper of Calgary-Confederation. Liberal incumbent Paul Chiang bowed out on Monday.
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