Tim Hudak's Ontario Conservatives are distancing themselves from Doug Ford, the Toronto city councillor and brother to embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.
"He is not our candidate," Conservative House Leader Jim Wilson told journalists on Thursday.
"I don’t even know the guy. Personally, I’ve never even met him," Wilson added.
But Doug Ford said on Newstalk 1010 that the party remains behind him 100%.
The cold shoulder is a change from the warm words Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak had for Doug Ford back in April when the city councillor said he'd be interested in making the leap to provincial politics.
"I love to welcome Doug to our team,” Hudak told the Toronto Sun.
“We’ve got a gravy train here under the Liberals that needs to be derailed as well.” he added.
"He’s driven and what is he driven to do? Well, to make sure that you actually show some respect for taxpayers,” Hudak also told reporters last month.
Since then, Doug Ford has been embroiled in a political scandal that has the potential to bring down his brother Rob Ford.
Mayor Ford is facing allegations that he smoked crack in a video that was reportedly shown to reporters from Gawker and the Toronto Star.
The mayor's office has since seen the departure of five staff members including chief of staff Mark Towhey and press secretary George Christopoulos.
Doug Ford was also the subject of a Globe and Mail investigation that alleged that the councillor was a drug dealer in the 1980s.
Both men have repeatedly denied the allegations.
Also on HuffPost