Conservative MP who accepted donation from white nationalist ejected from party caucus
Posted January 20, 2021 12:47 pm.
Last Updated January 20, 2021 1:08 pm.
OTTAWA – A majority of Conservative MPs have voted to remove Derek Sloan from the party’s caucus, according to sources not authorized to speak publicly about caucus business.
The vote follows revelations Sloan accepted a donation to his leadership campaign from a white nationalist.
Party leader Erin O’Toole initiated the caucus removal process late Monday after news of the donation surfaced. O’Toole has said his former leadership rival’s accepting the contribution is “far worse than a gross error of judgment or failure of due diligence.”
On Monday, Sloan said the idea that he deserved to be tossed out over the donation was ridiculous, adding he was going to fight efforts to remove him from caucus.
Sloan says his leadership team processed the $131 donation from Paul Fromm without recognizing his name amid thousands of other donors. Fromm has been a fixture in right-wing politics for decades, including participating in events with the neo-Nazi Heritage Front.
Sloan has said when he learned about the donation, he contacted the Conservative party and asked that Fromm’s money be returned.
RELATED: Conservative MP Derek Sloan says he’ll fight efforts to expel him from party ranks
Sloan was first elected to the Ontario riding of Hastings-Lennox and Addington in 2019 and unsuccessfully ran for leadership of the party last year.
His socially conservative views have been a thorn in the party’s side and O’Toole had faced pressure for months to kick him out to prove the Tories are the moderate party the leader claims.
More to come
