An Ottawa man has launched legal action against the federal Conservative Party over a decision to block him from seeking the party’s nomination to run in the upcoming election in the riding of Kanata-Carleton.
Ade Olumide, a project management consultant, filed a motion in the Federal Court of Canada on Thursday seeking an order postponing the party’s nomination meeting set for June 21.
Olumide says in his application he doesn’t know why the Conservatives disallowed him as a potential candidate and in an interview would say only that the party has shown a bias against him.
The court filings include emails from Conservative Party executive director Dustin van Vugt notifying Olumide that the party’s national candidate selection committee had disallowed his candidacy on June 2 and, earlier this week, dismissing an appeal of that decision.
In his motion, Olumide asks that the nomination be postponed so the court can consider whether the decisions were a violation of his Charter rights.
“There is a rumour the Party is concerned that if I am allowed to win, they would lose the riding,” the motion says.
“I feel that not allowing me to compete would be the end of my political career. My values are conservative and unless I am allowed to compete, I would not be able to participate in the political process of my home Country.”
The Conservative Party declined to comment on a matter before the court. None of Olumide’s allegations has been proven in court.
The Kanata riding, redrawn for the 2015 election, consists mostly of the riding of Carleton-Mississippi Mills, held by Conservative whip Gordon O’Connor, who is retiring as an MP.
The dispute is believed to be the first Conservative nomination process to face a formal legal challenge this year. Already, several Liberal nomination races, including one in Ottawa-Orléans, are subject to litigation.
Four other contestants are seeking the Conservative nomination, including Ted Hurley, the former chair of the Ottawa Catholic School Board, and Ann Matejicka, the chief of staff to Minister of State for Multiculturalism Tim Uppal.
Olumide has served as president of a taxpayers’ advocacy group and has been involved in local Conservative ridings associations. In an email to supporters this week, he claimed he has signed up 1,054 supporters in the riding, compared to the approximately 150 enlisted by the other contestants.
In the email, he encouraged supporters to write to Prime Minister Stephen Harper about his disqualification.
“Why would political operatives think that you are not capable of choosing who should represent you?” he wrote.
gmcgregor@ottawaitizen.com
