Written By Wyatt Claypool, Posted on March 8, 2020
Today, the campaign of Conservative leadership candidate Jim Karahalios sent out an email to supporters that directly targeted leadership candidate Erin O’Toole and his campaign chairman Walied Soliman.
Karahalios’ campaign inquired as to the involvement of Soliman, who was “advocating for the emergence of Shariah Law in Canada’s financial sector” back in 2007, as documented in a National Post interview.
The email also went after Walied for being (as the National Post put it) “a key figure in Patrick Brown’s successful 2015 Ontario PC leadership bid.” Given O’Toole is running as a “True Blue” Conservative, this is problematic.
The campaign also mentioned an incident back in 2017 when Karahalios fought the “Brown – Walied carbon tax” and demanded the party reopen party nominations after ballot box stuffing may have occurred.
Brown was quoted as saying, “get me the result I want” to top Progressive Conservative officials in the tory nomination that was later subject to a police investigation.
Coincidentally many notable establishment Conservatives defended Walied Soliman publicly on Twitter at about the same time, speaking of him as, in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford’s case a “man of integrity.”
Walied Soliman is a man of great integrity and a valued conservative voice. I’m appreciative of his support for this government. https://t.co/5hacaFOZrq
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) March 8, 2020
Jim Karaholis engages in hate & smear. I don’t know why he is even permitted to be a candidate for the federal CPC leadership. @waliedesq is a family man with unquestioned integrity & one of the most accomplished lawyers in Canada. @ErinOTooleMP is lucky to have him! #cdnpoli https://t.co/uoNNOX5cnx
— Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownont) March 8, 2020
Justin Trudeau is dividing Canadians. I am running to unite Conservatives to defeat him. I am proud to have Walied & thousands of others helping bring unity to Canada not more division. https://t.co/Ta1msfkyr2
— Erin O’Toole (@ErinOTooleMP) March 8, 2020
This is not the first time concerns about extremist ideology have emerged, regarding Erin O’Toole and his campaign chair Walied Soliman.
The O’Toole campaign has been dogged recently on explanations on the alleged connections their campaign appear to have. Little has been said in response to the reports.
Wyatt is a student at Mount Royal University, where he is the president of its Campus Conservative club. In his writing, he focuses on covering provincial and federal politics, firearms regulation, and the energy sector. Wyatt has also previously written for The Post Millennial.
[…] National Telegraph […]