Huffington Post: Liberals were caught off guard when candidate MacLeod stepped down over C-51 vote

After candidate MacLeod stepped down over Trudeau's C-51 vote, the Liberal party issued a statement saying his resignation was for personal reasons... Article by Althia Raj for the Huffington Post OTTAWA — The federal Liberals are staying mum about a star candidate who just turned on them. 

David MacLeod is a Canadian Forces veteran that was supposed to run against Justice Minister Peter MacKay in the Nova Scotia riding of Central Nova. But the day MacKay announced he wasn’t running again, the Liberals issued a statement saying MacLeod was also stepping down as a candidate for the Grits.

The Liberals said MacLeod advised them two days earlier, on Wednesday, May 27, that he was withdrawing as a candidate.

“He reiterated to us his strong support for the Party and our Leader. His resignation is for personal reasons and Mr. MacLeod is requesting privacy,” party spokesman Olivier Duchesneau said in a statement on May 29.

But in an interview with the Globe and Mail published Monday, MacLeod said he stepped down over Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s stance on Bill C-51, the government’s controversial anti-terror legislation.

“It was an integrity-based decision,” he is quoted telling the newspaper. 

In a scathing letter that the Globe says MacLeod sent to Trudeau, he outlines his concerns. 

A veteran with 27 years of service, MacLeod says he helped defend Canadian democracy by participating in peacekeeping, peacemaking and war. 

“Having opposed oppressive political systems in the name of Canadian democracy, I refuse to support any entity complicit in the creation of a repressive act which assaults Canadian liberty,” he writes.

- Read more at The Huffington Post