Derek Sloan (born November 11, 1984) is a Canadian politician who formerly represented the
riding of
Hastings—Lennox and Addington
Hastings—Lennox and Addington is a federal electoral district in Ontario.
Hastings—Lennox and Addington was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It came ...
. Shortly after being elected to the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
in the
2019 Canadian federal election
The 2019 Canadian federal election was held on October 21, 2019. Member of Parliament (Canada), Members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons were elected to the 43rd Canadian Parliament. In keeping with the Fixed election dates in ...
, Sloan ran as a candidate for the
Conservative Party leadership in 2020 and was eliminated after the first ballot. He has received national news coverage for his controversial views on
LGBTQ
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
issues, and making allegedly racist remarks.
On January 20, 2021, Sloan was expelled from the Conservative Party caucus after it was revealed that he had received a donation from white supremacist Paul Fromm. Party leader Erin O'Toole
Erin Michael O'Toole (born January 22, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Durham since 2012. A member of the Conservative Party, O'Toole served as the party's leader and the leader of the Official ...
explained that the decision had been made "because of a pattern of destructive behaviour involving multiple incidents."
In the 2021 Canadian federal election
The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament. The writs of election were issued by Governor General Mary Simon on August 15, 2021, when Prime Minist ...
, Sloan ran in the Banff—Airdrie riding without party affiliation, and finished a distant fifth.
Background
Sloan was born in 1984 and raised near Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. He attended Kingsway College
Kingsway College is a Seventh-day Adventist high school in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
The school was established in 1903 in Lorne Park (a community to the west of Toronto, now part of Mississauga) by Eugene Leland and his wife, and w ...
, a private Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
-affiliated high school in Oshawa
Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...
.
In 2003, Sloan enrolled at Pacific Union College
Pacific Union College (PUC) is a private university, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Angwin, California. It is the only four-year college in Napa County, California, Napa County. It is a coeducational r ...
(PUC), a private university in Napa Valley
Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...
, California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
associated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. There he completed a bachelor's degree in business in 2007. While attending PUC, Sloan served as president of the university's student association in 2007.
After graduating, Sloan moved to Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario to work at a water-fuel systems company. Subsequently, he ran Sloan's Furniture Liquidation in Oshawa from 2011 to 2014. In 2014, Sloan began a law degree at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...
; he finished articling in 2018. Sloan has said he pursued law because he was interested in "defending religious liberties against political correctness."
Sloan and his wife Jennifer have two daughters and a son.
Political career
2019 federal election
In 2018, Sloan announced that he would seek the Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
's nomination for the riding of Hastings—Lennox and Addington
Hastings—Lennox and Addington is a federal electoral district in Ontario.
Hastings—Lennox and Addington was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It came ...
. At the nomination meeting, Sloan defeated three other candidates: a city councillor who had served for fifteen years in Belleville, a lawyer who had lived in the area for twenty years, and a local business owner. Sloan defeated one-term Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
incumbent Mike Bossio
Mike Bossio (born 1960 or 1961) is a Canadian Liberal politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Hastings—Lennox and Addington in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election and served until his defeat in the ...
in the 2019 federal election, becoming the first Seventh-day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...
ever elected to the Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Commons is ...
.
2020 Conservative Party leadership election
Sloan announced his candidacy for the 2020 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election
The 2020 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election was a leadership election held to elect a successor to Andrew Scheer, who in December 2019 announced his pending resignation as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. The electio ...
on January 22, 2020. On January 27, Sloan made national headlines after tweeting in response to fellow leadership candidate Richard Décarie his belief that being gay is a choice. During an interview on the CTV Power Panel Sloan went on to elaborate that he felt that the science of whether sexual orientation is a choice is unclear. Sloan's comments were criticized by his former election campaign manager, Eric Lorenzen.
A self-identified social conservative
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...
, Sloan attracted controversy for the policy positions he endorsed throughout the leadership race. Sloan stated that were he elected leader he would permit Conservative MPs to reopen the debate on abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
or introduce private members’ bills aimed at overturning same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
. He also voiced opposition to Bill C-16, which protects people from discrimination on the basis of gender identity. He also vowed to vote against a federal ban on the pseudoscientific practice of conversion therapy
Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...
, arguing that parents should be able to make children identify with the body they are born with. Sloan has been widely criticized in the media and even within the Conservative Party for these views.
On February 6, 2020, members of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte
The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) (Mohawk: ''Kenhtè:ke Kanyen'kehà :ka'' ) are a Mohawk First Nation within Hastings County, Ontario. They control the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, which is a Mohawk Indian reserve on the Bay of Quinte in so ...
blockaded the Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
north of Tyendinaga, in support the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs' opposition to the Coastal GasLink Pipeline within Sloan's riding of Hastings—Lennox and Addington
Hastings—Lennox and Addington is a federal electoral district in Ontario.
Hastings—Lennox and Addington was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It came ...
. Sloan spoke publicly about the blockade for the first time on February 18, stating the Liberal government should have responded faster to the protests. Three days later, Sloan characterized the protesters as "radical extremists" and called on the Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorpo ...
to enforce an injunction to remove the blockade.
On April 21, 2020, Sloan tweeted a video in which he asked whether Canada's Chief Medical Officer Theresa Tam
Theresa Tam (; born 1965) is a Canadian physician and public servant who currently serves as the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, chief public health officer of Canada, who is the second-in-command of the Public Health Agency of Canada ( ...
worked "for Canada or for China?" Sloan's comments singled out Theresa Tam, a Chinese Canadian
, native_name =
, native_name_lang =
, image = Chinese Canadian population by province.svg
, image_caption = Chinese Canadians as percent of population by province / territory
, pop = 1,715,7704.63% of the ...
, and were denounced as racist on social media; Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
called them intolerant, saying they had no place in Canada, and several fellow Conservative MPs denounced them as personal attacks. Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer
Andrew James Scheer (born May 20, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Regina—Qu'Appelle since 2004. Scheer served as the 35th speaker of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2015, and was the lead ...
initially declined to comment on Sloan's remarks, but stated that it was "inappropriate to question someone’s loyalty to their country" the following week. The municipality of Hastings County
Hastings County is located in the province of Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is located on the border of Eastern Ontario and Central Ontario. Hastings County is the second-largest county in Ontario, after Renfrew County, and its county ...
condemned Sloan's remarks as "cruel and racist" and unrepresentative of the people of his riding, before calling on him to be expelled from the Conservative Party. Sloan said the following day that he would not apologize, because "the idea people would think it was racist was not even on my mind. I would have said those statements about any public health officer that made those decisions in her spot." The Chinese Canadian National Council
The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) (french: Conseil national des Canadiens chinois pour la justice sociale), known in the Chinese-Canadian community as Equal Rights Council (平權會), is an organization whose purpose is to promote eq ...
(SJ) submitted a letter to the Conservative Party demanding that Sloan be expelled from the party's caucus and denied the opportunity to run for its leadership. In an emergency session on April 29, 2020, Conservative MPs demanded Sloan apologize for his statements. In a statement on April 29, Sloan said his comments were "rhetorical" but declined to retract them.
In the leadership election, Sloan placed last on the first ballot and was subsequently eliminated after winning 14.39% of first-ballot points.
Post-leadership election
Shortly after Erin O'Toole
Erin Michael O'Toole (born January 22, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Durham since 2012. A member of the Conservative Party, O'Toole served as the party's leader and the leader of the Official ...
won the leadership, Liberal MP Pam Damoff
Pamela Damoff (born March 13) is a Canadian Liberal politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Oakville North—Burlington in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.
Personal history
Born in London, Ontario ...
called for Sloan's expulsion from the Conservative caucus. Sloan called it part of the Liberals' electoral strategy, while O'Toole declined to say whether or not he would expel him from caucus. Despite a petition launched by anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
organization Campaign Life Coalition
The Campaign Life Coalition (sometimes shortened to Campaign Life) is a Canadian political lobbyist organization founded in 1978. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, the organization advocates for socially conservative values. Campaign Life Coalition opp ...
for his inclusion, O'Toole did not include Sloan in his Shadow Cabinet.
During a campaign webinar on June 4, 2020, Sloan accused Justin Trudeau of "effectively putting into law child abuse" by proposing a ban on conversion therapy
Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...
. Bay of Quinte PRIDE denounced Sloan's comments as "vile" and stated that Sloan was failing to adequately represent his LGBTQ constituents. Fellow leadership candidate Peter MacKay
Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and has served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General (2013–2015), Minister of National Defence (2007â ...
likewise denounced Sloan's remarks as reprehensible.
In October 2020, Sloan voted against a bill banning various forms of conversion therapy. He claimed that the bill would outlaw prayer and "amounts to child abuse", using it for fundraising purposes following the vote. Sloan signed an E-petition that raised questions about the safety of a future coronavirus vaccine. When asked about the e-petition, he stated that it had "good points".
Expulsion from Conservative caucus
On January 18, 2021, O'Toole announced plans to remove Sloan from the Conservative Party caucus (of Conservative Members of Parliament) after it was revealed that Sloan unknowingly accepted a donation of $131 from white nationalist Paul Fromm. Sloan received the money (donated under the name "Frederick P. Fromm") during the 2020 leadership campaign. Upon learning of the donation, Sloan asked the Conservative Party to arrange for its return to Fromm. He also pointed out on social media that the Conservative party had taken a ten percent cut of the donation. O'Toole also stated that Sloan would not be allowed to run as a Conservative candidate in the next federal election. The party also investigated his use of robocalls during his leadership campaign. Sloan was voted out of the Conservative caucus on January 20, 2021. The vote occurred pursuant to provisions of the ''Reform Act
In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...
''.
Before that decision was made, the Party had issued a statement that "Sloan's campaign ... sold the party membership to Fromm". In a statement on January 20, 2021, Erin O'Toole explained that Sloan's acceptance of a donation from a white nationalist was just one factor of many that led to the ouster:"The Conservative caucus voted to remove Derek Sloan not because of one specific event, but because of a pattern of destructive behaviour involving multiple incidents and disrespect towards the Conservative team for over a year."
Post-expulsion
Following his expulsion from the Conservative Party, Sloan has travelled across Ontario to speak at protests and demonstrations against public health measures enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. On April 24, 2021, Sloan spoke at an anti-lockdown protest in Barrie
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...
where he recommended that the government explore treating COVID-19 using Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 (c ...
. The following day Sloan, Ontario MPP Randy Hillier
Randy Alexander Hillier (born 1958) is a Canadian politician who served as a Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada), member of provincial parliament (MPP) in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2007-2022. Hillier represented the riding ...
, and other demonstrators attended a service at the Church of God in Aylmer
Aylmer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Edward Aylmer, Welsh MP
* Edward Aylmer (cricketer), first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer
* Felix Aylmer, English stage actor
* Sir Fenton Aylmer, 13th Baronet, British Arm ...
in defiance of the Reopening Ontario Act, which limits in-person religious gatherings to ten people. Sloan has also attended demonstrations in Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
, Stratford, and Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
. Sloan was charged in relation to the event in Aylmer and has been investigated by Belleville police regarding a gathering at Zwicks Park.
In July 2021, Sloan announced his plan to form a new political party. In August 2021, soon after the 44th federal election was called, he announced that he would contest the Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
riding of Banff—Airdrie without any party affiliation. He came fifth while the Conservative incumbent, Blake Richards
Blake Richards (born November 8, 1974) is a Canadian politician. He has been a Conservative Member of Parliament since 2008, having been elected to represent the now defunct electoral district (or riding) of Wild Rose in the October 14, 200 ...
, was re-elected.
Ontario provincial politics
In December 2021, Sloan was announced as the new Leader of the Ontario Party
The Ontario Party (french: Parti Ontario) is a minor social conservative, economic liberal and right-wing populist political party in the Canadian province of Ontario, founded in 2018.
History
The Ontario Party was founded in May 2018, during ...
, intending to contest the 2022 Ontario general election
The 2022 Ontario general election will be held on or before June 2, 2022, to elect Members of Provincial Parliament to serve in the 43rd Parliament of Ontario. As of December 2016, Ontario elections are held on the first Thursday in June in th ...
.
Electoral record
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sloan, Derek
1984 births
Lawyers in Ontario
Living people
Canadian Seventh-day Adventists
Conservative Party of Canada MPs
Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Pacific Union College alumni
Politicians affected by a party expulsion process
Politicians from Belleville, Ontario
Right-wing populism in Canada