A New Conservative Leadership Candidate Says Lockdowns Are Tied To 'Political Correctness'

A new candidate has thrown his hat into the Conservative Party of Canada leadership race. Roman Baber, an independent Ontario MPP, has announced that he will be formally starting his campaign on March 9.

This announcement came via Baber's Twitter account. Sharing a link to a CTV News article confirming his candidacy, the MPP said that "change is coming."

"I am grateful to Canadians who stood with me for the last 15 months. You can always count on me to say what I believe & do what I believe to be right," he said, before mentioning that a "special announcement" will be made at 7:30 p.m. on March 9.

The Ontario politician rose to prominence after he was kicked out of Doug Ford's Ontario Progressive-Conservative party for his vocal opposition to COVID-19 lockdowns.

He has also been banned from running for the party in the province's upcoming election.

He now sits as an Independent MPP for the Toronto riding of York Centre.

Baber says that he's one of the first candidates running that came out against COVID-19 lockdowns, telling the Canadian Press, "I don't believe there's anyone in the race who was willing to speak out against lockdowns or vaccine passports until recently."

CTV News reports that he also said COVID-19 responses like lockdowns are related to "cancel culture and political correctness."

He says he wants to stand up to this so-called cancel culture and "restore Canada's democracy," which he claims "has been somewhat eroded, with censorship, with mandates, with invocation of the Emergencies Act."

Baber is the third person to officially announce his candidacy for the Conservative leadership.

Others include Conservative MPs Pierre Poilievre and Leslyn Lewis. Along with these candidates, former Quebec Premier Jean Charest is expected to put himself forward for the job.

The Conservative Party leadership race began when former leader Erin O'Toole, was fired from the position in January, following a vote within the Conservative MP caucus.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.