WINNIPEG — Manitoba Liberal candidate Jamie Hall has resigned a day after he came under fire for sexist comments he made on social media.
Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari made a statement about the resignation Thursday morning.
“Jamie Hall has apologized to me and the party and I have accepted his apology,” Bokhari said in the statement. “He has also offered his resignation from candidacy in Southdale and I have accepted his resignation.”
“It was a massive misstep,” Bokhari said Thursday at the Manitoba Legislative Building. “We’re doing everything we can to go back, retrace those steps to see where the gap was and trying our best to move forward.”
RAW: Manitoba Liberal leader responds to candidate resignation over sexist tweets
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Hall apologized for his tweets but defended himself, telling the Canadian Press, “I have countless friends that are women, my girlfriend, my mother, my sister, my grandmas who are no longer with me. And I am not by any means sexist.”
“The comments were disgusting,” Bokhari said. “That’s not who we are as a party, that’s not who I am as a person, as a woman.”
Jamie Hall is not alone in this situation. Wab Kinew, NDP candidate for Fort Rouge, was in hot water after comments he made in his rap lyrics which he later apologized for in his book before entering politics.
“I apologize and I try to correct my behaviour. I believe in integrity and I believe in trying to improving yourself and being honest about the mistakes you make,” Kinew told Global News over the phone Thursday afternoon.
“What you post online does reflect your personal brand,” Susie Erjavec Parker, a social media strategist said. “And are those words in line with what you want to reflect with your personal brand?”