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Ed Holder, Tory Candidate, Called Out For Skipping Election Debates

"Have you seen this man?"

A high-profile Conservative hasn’t been showing up to local debates, so a Green candidate launched a cheeky website as an alternative way to ask him questions

Ed Holder is the focus of wheresed.ca — an one-page site set up by Dimitri Lascaris that lists six campaign events the incumbent MP has skipped in September.

Lascaris tweeted a poster on Sunday mocking Holder’s campaign strategy.

“Ed’s been skipping election events — even debates — which is weird, since he was super excited about representing Harper,” it read.

Holder confirmed earlier this month his intention to participate in five candidate debates among more than a dozen proposals his campaign has received. He has missed one debate and seven campaign events this month, according to the website.

Registered Friday, the site is the latest example criticizing the Conservative Party's strategy of getting candidates to turn down participating in local debates and brush off questions from media.

Stephen Harper’s former communications director told The Toronto Star, the tactic is utilized during campaign because door knocking is perceived by the party as a better use of candidates’ time.

“It’s much more effective to get your message to a voter on their doorstep than through a filter,” he said.

First elected to Parliament in 2008, Holder was appointed minister of state for science and technology in 2014.

Lascaris, a class-action lawyer, was named a Green candidate at the beginning of September.

Last week, another London-area Tory candidate was ridiculed for skipping a debate organized by Huron University College. Susan Truppe, the incumbent for London North Centre, was represented by an empty chair.

Weeks earlier, she did attend an all-candidates debate organized by Rogers TV London.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Truppe missed an all-candidates debate organized by Rogers TV London. This version has been updated.

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