Canada elections: Liberal Party candidate halts campaign over sexual assault allegation

This is second such incident which may affect the prospects of Liberal Party led by incumbent PM Justin Trudeau. Earlier, after facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards staffers, Indo-Canadian MP Raj Saini too had decided to end his run for re-election from Kitchener Centre.

In a setback to Liberals’ federal elections campaign, one of its candidates from Toronto was asked to “pause campaigning” as the party investigated an allegation of sexual assault against him.

The CN Tower stands at dusk above office buildings and condominiums in the downtown area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Liberal Party has asked one of its candidates from Toronto to halt campaigning over sexual assault allegation. (REUTERS)

That revelation came in a report from the daily Toronto Star on Thursday night. It reported that Kevin Vuong, the party nominee from the riding (as constituencies are called in Canada) of Spadina - Fort York was charged with sexual assault by an unidentified woman in 2019.

According to the Star, Vuong “unequivocally” denied the charge and described them as “false”. However, he added, “I will be taking some time with my family.”

Vuong actually faced the charge in court but it was withdrawn in November 2019. However, in an interview with the daily, the alleged victim said the incident occurred in April that year but she “didn’t have the energy” to undergo a trial in this regard.

The alleged victim said she only became aware that Vuong was running as a candidate for the federal elections due on September 20 when she saw his picture on election signage after returning to Toronto recently.

Since nominations for the elections were closed at the time, his exit left the party without a candidate in the riding. Saini had also described the allegations he faced as “unequivocally false” adding that he had “never acted inappropriately towards staff, volunteers or constituents.”

While Vuong’s fate as a candidate is unclear, his potential departure may leave the Liberals minus a seat that it currently holds in the House of Commons. Vuong was nominated after incumbent Adam Vaughan didn’t seek re-election.

According to his campaign website, Vuong, who is of Vietnamese origin and the son of refugees from the Vietnam War, “co-founded TakeCare Supply, which rapidly developed Canada’s first evidence-based reusable mask” after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.