PC candidate says controversial posts she shared 'not consistent' with her views

A Progressive Conservative candidate running in the Prince Edward Island election is taking heat over some of her past posts on social media.

Advocacy group BIPOC USHR (which stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour United for Strength, Home, Relationship) says a community member told the group about a 2018 Facebook post in which Donalda Docherty shared an article calling for the niqab and burka to be banned in public places.

CBC News was not able to independently verify the post on Facebook, but the PC Party confirmed Docherty who's running in District 17: New Haven-Rocky Point, had shared the link.

The article was written in 2015 for the Toronto Sun by a women who identifies as Muslim. It's a response to a Federal Court of Canada ruling that found a ban on face masks in citizenship ceremonies unlawful.

Sobia Ali-Faisal, BIPOC USHR's executive director, said the article "demeans Muslim women" who make the choice to wear the niqab, which covers virtually all of the face.

"We know from countless stories of Muslim women who wear the niqab ... they say that they wear it out [of] devotion to their religion. It's a choice. It's empowering for them," she said.

Post perpetuates Islamophobia?

Ali-Faisal said the kind of beliefs expressed in the article perpetuate Islamophobia and inaccurate beliefs about Muslims. She thinks this could make the local community unwilling to participate in politics or support the Progressive Conservatives.

Docherty didn't comment on the post she shared on Facebook, but in a statement this week she said: "The shared posts are not consistent with my views and have been deleted." 

Ali-Faisal said if you share something on social media, the assumption is you're in agreement with it unless you say otherwise.

She said she would like to know more about Docherty's current beliefs. 

"Has she learned about Muslim women? Has she engaged with Muslim women, especially those who wear the face covering, to understand their experiences?" she said.

"Has she understood why this view is very harmful, especially to Muslim women who cover? So I'm just really curious to understand what her views are today."

Twitter account taken offline

Docherty's Twitter account has also come under scrutiny. One of two accounts under her name was taken offline shortly after party leader Dennis King said he stood behind the candidate.

On the account that's now been removed, Docherty shared posts that questioned the validity of climate change and claimed COVID-19 is a global conspiracy. 

The posts she shared were written by other users.

One message written by former Olympian Jamie Salé compared the government response in Canada to COVID-19 to Nazi Germany's persecution of Jewish people during the Holocaust.

Docherty also shared post by former NHL player Theo Fleury claiming the pandemic was a deliberate plan to depopulate the world and form one world government.

Last week, King said he wasn't familiar with the posts. 

"There was [sic] many Islanders who had varying views on the whole situation around COVID. It was the most difficult and challenging time… in the lives of all Islanders, and it exposed the best and worst of all of us," King said.

Donalda's a hard-working candidate. And I'd have to think that if people are going through old tweets like they used to do with mine, then she must be doing something well.— PC Leader Dennis King

"Donalda's a hard-working candidate. And I'd have to think that if people are going through old tweets like they used to do with mine, then she must be doing something well."

King came under fire after becoming PC leader in 2019 for tweets dating to his time as a storyteller and comedian — posts that some critics considered misogynistic and homophobic.

Candidate responds

CBC News asked for an interview with Docherty but she declined.

"I believe in working to build an inclusive Island where you can be your true self, love who you love, worship who you choose, and dress how you want," she said in a written statement.

"I'm proud to run for the PC Party that led our province well through the COVID-19 pandemic... I am fully vaccinated myself and appreciate the work done by government to ensure vaccines and testing were accessible to all Islanders. Being from a riding that has seen coastal erosion and devastation from increased natural disasters, I of course believe climate change is real and am proud to run as part of a team that is leading the country in working towards net-zero emissions."

District 17 is expected to be a hotly contested race in the runup to the April 3 election. The leaders of both the Green and Liberal parties are running there.