Conservative Party bars controversial candidate Richard Dcarie from leadership race

The Conservative Party namedeight candidates Saturday who passed the first hurdle to become acontender in theparty's leadership race a listthat does notinclude former Stephen Harper adviser RichardDcarie, who made controversial comments about theLGBTQcommunity earlier this year.

In response to his unsuccessful bid,Dcarie, a social conservative from Quebec, took aim at the Conservative Party's committee responsible for having final say in the decision.

"The unelected Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) has decided I am not an 'Approved Candidate,'" he saidin a series of tweets."Despite the support and signatures of thousands of CPC party members, this unelected committee has disallowed my candidacy and will not allow my supporters to cast their ballots for me."

The party would not say why Dcarie's application failed to land a green light.

"Eight candidates were approved by the committee. Reasons for not approving a candidate are not disclosed, but it's not a decision the committee ever takes lightly," said party spokesperson Cory Hann.

Approvedcandidate Derek Sloan a Conservative MP in Ontario slammed the committeeon Twitter, calling its decision "outrageous".

LGBTQcomments yielded backlash

In January, Dcarie caused an uproar when he appeared on national television and claimed that being gay is a choice.

The comments prompted other leadership candidates including Peter MacKay, Erin O'Toole and Marilyn Gladu to condemnDcarie's remarks, calling them "ridiculous" and "unacceptable."

In 2016, the party's rank and file members voted to remove the traditional definition of marriagefrom its official policy.

Dcariestood by his earlier remarks Saturday.

"Thus far I was the only candidate who took a strong position in support of traditional marriage and who proposed to defund abortion federally since it is not health care," he posted."True Blue Conservatives, including those who hold traditional values, are a major force within the party."

Kory Teneycke, Harper's former director of communications, said it was "good news" thatDcarie would not move ahead in the race.

"Candidates have to hold beliefs that are consistent with the Conservative Party's principles," he said. "Richard Dcarie's views on sexual orientation are, in the minds of many, bigoted."

Dcarie made Thursday deadline

Dcarie made Thursday's deadline to submit his application to be a candidate, which included aninitial $25,000 entry fee and 1,000 signatures from party members who live in 30 ridings in seven provinces and territories.

But to become an "approved applicant," Dcarie's signatures needed to be verified, his application required review and he underwent an interview conducted by a nine-person Leadership Candidate Nomination Committee.

CBC News has learned that Dcarie's interview took place Thursday.

On Thursday, seven candidates had met the first eligibility criteria to replace Andrew Scheer as party leader.

Saturday's list includes an eighth candidate,former Conservative staffer Rudy Husny, who previously told CBC News that he had the signatures and entry fees needed prior to securing approval.

The final candidates are:

• Marilyn Gladu,MP for the Ontario riding of SarniaLambtonsince 2015.
• Rudy Husny,former Conservative staffer and unsuccessful candidate in Outrement, Que., in2011 and 2015.
• Jim Karahalios,ananti-carbon tax activistwho previouslyfiled a lawsuit against the Ontario PC Party.
• Leslyn Lewis, a lawyer and unsuccessful Conservative candidatein Ontario's ScarboroughRouge Park in 2015.
• Peter MacKay,former minister of justice, foreign affairs and national defence in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet, Nova Scotia MP from 1997 to 2015 and the last leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
• Erin O'Toole,former minister of veterans affairs, MP for Durham, Ont. since 2012, and third-place finisher in the 2017 Conservative leadership race.
• Rick Peterson, abusinessman who finished 12th in the 2017 Conservative leadership race.
• Derek Sloan,MP for Ontario's HastingsLennox and Addingtonriding since 2019.