Wayne Wettlaufer has landed himself in some hot social media water.
Earlier Wednesday, the Ontario Progressive Conservative candidate for Kitchener Centre commented on a journalist's tweet about women's knowledge of politics.
"I all too often find my female friends (outside of journalism circles) far far less engaged and informed about current affairs," wrote Ashley Csanady, a journalist with Queen's Park Briefing.
"Is that why so many females vote #Liberal - they get all their information from the Toronto Star (less informed)," tweeted Wettlaufer.
The comment sparked significant backlash.
The tweet initially went up around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, but was deleted around 2:10 p.m..
Many on Twitter included Tim Hudak in their replies to Wettlaufer, asking for his opinion on the matter.
Wettlaufer was a Kitchener MPP from 1995 to 2003, when he lost to current Liberal MPP John Milloy, according to The Record.
"I have an absolute passion for our young people and what I consider to be our lack of future," he said in 2012, explaining his return to politics. "I don’t think my time has come and gone."
The controversy comes at awkward time for Tories as Premier Kathleen Wynne officially called five byelections on Wednesday for August 1.
Check out some reactions to Wettlaufer's now-deleted tweet in the slideshow below: