In light of insufficient time to conduct a campaign and due to significant foreign interference, I am hereby withdrawing from the Conservative Party of Canada (“CPC”) nomination election in the riding of Richmond Hill.
My campaign was focused on pursuing the CPC’s vision of a better economy, lower crime, and, most importantly, an end to foreign interference in Canada.
My large and incredibly talented team of volunteers built an amazingly agile and professional operation in a very short time. We launched our campaign only last week.
We anticipated, and immediately after launch began to receive, significant support from the Richmond Hill community.
However, the Party’s timing of the nomination was such that my team did not have an opportunity to implement our plans.
In addition, we battled significant foreign interference in my campaign. Disinformation about me was amplified by Iranian regime cyber accounts. I was physically monitored and threatened. Our campaign volunteers were afraid for the safety of their families in Iran.
No political campaign anywhere in the country has ever had to overcome the degree of foreign interference and intimidation that I have faced in just the last two weeks. Regrettably, my appeals to the Party for support and for additional time to fight back were unheeded. While I wish the Party well, I would be lying if I said I was not disappointed with their approach to this issue.
As I have been saying to voters, if we do not fight foreign interference now, there will be no Canada left to fight for. It is imperative that when he becomes Prime Minister, Pierre Poilievre recognizes and addresses the full nature and degree of this threat of foreign interference to Canada’s democracy.
I wish the best to the candidate the members will select at the nomination meeting. Richmond Hill and the Conservative Party must reject and defeat Majid Jowhari once and for all, and I’m committed to supporting their efforts to accomplish that objective.
Kaveh Shahrooz
2-22-2024