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A tradesman caught on camera urinating into a coffee cup while working in someone's home has dropped out of running for Canada's parliament.

Jerry Bance had been competing as a Conservative in a Toronto district but a party spokesman said on Monday that he is "no longer a candidate".

Broadcaster CBC used hidden cameras in 2012 to video Mr Bance as he attended to a leaky sink as a repairman.

In a statement he said he was "deeply regretful" over the incident.

But opposition politicians wasted no time trying to capitalise.

"He must be someone who is adept at [Prime Minister] Stephen Harper's trickle-down theory of economics,'' said New Democrat leader Tom Mulcair.

Mr Bance was filmed during an episode of CBC-TV's investigative series Marketplace, which was aiming to expose and confront workmen overcharging for simple repairs.

With the homeowner in the next room, he is seen relieving himself in a mug before dumping its contents into the sink and rinsing it out.

Canadians go to the polls on 19 October, with Mr Harper's governing Conservative Party seeking re-election.

Last week, the country recorded its second consecutive quarter of economic contraction and officially entered a recession.