Former riding president alleges meddling in Conservative GTA nomination

A former Conservative is accusing party brass of blocking him from running to be nominated as a candidate in the next election.

Anthony Yacub, 24, said he believes the party made him ineligible for the nomination in order to run a «star» candidate in his riding, currently held by Liberal MP Jennifer O'Connell.

«it's a real slap in the face to grassroots people,» he told CBC News. «What does it say to them? It basically says, 'We don't really care what you think.'»

Yacub was the Conservative riding president in the greater Toronto area riding of Pickering-Uxbridge until he decided to seek the federal nomination for the riding last September. (Due to changes in electoral boundary maps, the riding will be called Pickering-Brooklin in the next election.)

Yacub said he initially felt supported by the party when he told them he was planning on seeking the nomination. Three months later, he said, he started getting «weird vibes» from a regional party organizer and in February, he was told he was ineligible to seek the nomination.

This is at least the fourth time Conservative Party brass have been accused of interfering in local nomination races in the run-up to the next election — allegations the party has denied.

«I've never seen a party that's going this hard against their own people,» Yacub said.

His claim hinges on an interpretation of a rule in the party's electoral district association (EDA) constitution.

In a statement, Conservative Party spokesperson Sarah Fischer says Yacub was ineligible to run because of a neutrality agreement he signed when he was on his riding's nomination committee in 2023. According to the party's rules, the riding president is automatically on the nomination committee if they are «willing and able to