Conservative candidate booted after CTV News uncovers audio of joke about Justin Trudeau and the death penalty

Conservative candidate Mark McKenzie after remarks he made about the death penalty and Justin Trudeau in 2022 were uncovered.

A Conservative candidate who once voiced his support for “public hangings” – even joking that former prime minister Justin Trudeau should receive the death penalty – will no longer be running to represent the party after CTV News first obtained audio of his comments.

“The comments are clearly unacceptable. Mr. McKenzie will not be the Conservative candidate,” a Conservative campaign spokesperson told CTV News in statement on Tuesday morning. The response came just over an hour after reaching out to the party for comment on the story.

Mark McKenzie, who sits as a city councillor in Windsor, Ont., was running to represent the riding of Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore. In 2022, he made remarks in a now-defunct comedy podcast called “Mark and Chris Podcast.” Content from the podcast has since largely been wiped online.

The episode was released on Feb. 18, 2022 at the end of the “Freedom Convoy” that took over downtown Ottawa for three weeks amid political division over pandemic restrictions and mandates.

During the episode, McKenzie – who called Trudeau an “idiot” amid the aftermath of the protests – spoke to his co-host about the need to “hold your politicians accountable” and for “more regular people” to run for office.

When his co-host expressed doubt over the impact that local city councillors can have on issues like lockdowns, McKenzie pushed back and said, “we all need to band together.”

He then spoke about the need to return to medieval-era methods as a way to invoke change, going on to say, “I’m also in favour of public hangings, so I think we need to bring that back.”

“I think they should bring back the electric chair as well, but again only if you’re like a million per cent positive, like no but you know what I mean?” McKenzie added.

While going back and forth with his co-host about his support for the death penalty, McKenzie went on to give examples of cases where it should be applied and included Trudeau’s name.

“But again, like a Paul Bernardo, just (expletive) kill that guy. Why are my tax dollars going to keep that guy alive? Charles Manson, people like that, Jeffrey Dahmer, you know what I’m saying. If you’re 100 per cent certain. Epstein, you know, this is what I’m saying, Justin Trudeau,” McKenzie said while laughing.

Following that comment, McKenzie referred to strict policies in China, saying “Look man, even you look at some like China, you steal something, there goes your hand, you know? And you know why, that’s why nobody (expletive) steals in China or in Thailand, you know? You don’t (expletive) around there because you’re losing your hand,” later adding: “I’m against a lot of things China does. Not that.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is campaigning in St. John’s, N.L., on Tuesday and was asked directly by CTV News on his way back to his campaign bus about the party’s decision to remove McKenzie as a candidate.

“We fired him, he’s gone,” Poilievre said.

When asked why, Poilievre simply responded, saying, “Unacceptable.”

Conservative Party ‘aware of’ podcast comments: McKenzie

Speaking to CTV News on Tuesday, McKenzie said he is “disappointed that the party is deciding to go in a different direction” and said he is “sorry” despite also saying his comments “have been taken out of context.”

“Now that I’m actually walking in those shoes. I am a politician now. I’m an elected official. Looking back, you know, I shouldn’t have said that, but again, it was very much taken out of context,” McKenzie said.

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When asked whether the party knew about his comments prior to CTV News’ story, McKenzie said he “had heard that the party was aware of it” during the nomination process, adding that he had disclosed his podcast in his application and that the audio has been previously released back in 2022 when he was running for city council.

According to McKenzie, party officials – including campaign manager Jenni Byrne – contacted him Tuesday morning following CTV News’ reporting to say they had heard his comments while also asking him to send the audio. Within minutes after the phone call, he said he was then told he would no longer be the candidate.

The now former Conservative candidate tells CTV News he has reached out to the party in hopes of speaking with Poilievre.

CTV News has asked the party about whether they were aware of McKenzie’s podcast comments prior to Tuesday and have yet to hear back.

McKenzie has served as a city councillor in Windsor since the fall of 2022.

This past weekend, he had officially launched his campaign to run for the federal Conservatives.

He previously spent nearly two decades in broadcasting at several Windsor-area radio stations, and most recently worked as a licensed realtor.

Liberal incumbent Irek Kusmierczyk, the NDP’s Alex Ilijoski and Nick Babick of the People’s Party of Canada are running to represent the riding of Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore.

The federal election is set for April 28.

With files from CTV News’ Mike Le Couteur