The Conservative Party candidate running against Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in the Montreal riding of Papineau has resigned, after it was revealed that he only wanted to “mess” with the party as part of a performance art project.

Chris Lloyd resigned as the Conservative candidate in the Liberal stronghold, a spokesperson for the Conservative Party confirmed to CTV News Tuesday.

Lloyd’s bizarre story made national headlines on Tuesday, but he hasn’t exactly been hiding his intentions.

In March, Lloyd delivered a lecture at an art centre in Fredericton, N.B., where he told the crowd that he was able to secure the Conservative candidacy in Papineau because he was the only applicant.

According to a story published in late March by The New Brunswick Beacon, which is run by the journalism school at St. Thomas University, Lloyd said he has publicly written about his intentions to become a Conservative candidate and “mess” with the party until it was time to “break character.”

It is unclear how Lloyd was vetted by the Conservatives. CTV’s Mercedes Stephenson reported Tuesday that he was considered an “unusual” but “interesting” candidate for the Tories, who don’t have high hopes of winning Trudeau’s riding in October.

Lloyd has reportedly been running his “Dear PM” project for years, which includes writing letters to the prime minister. It’s unclear whether Harper has ever received or read any of them.

A website that lists “Chris Lloyd projects” describes “Dear PM” as “ongoing daily communications to the prime minister of Canada since January 1, 2001.”

That means Lloyd has been sending letters not just to Stephen Harper, but his Liberal predecessors Paul Martin and Jean Chretien as well.

The @dearpm Twitter account linked to Lloyd describes the user as a “personal confidante to the Prime Minister of Canada” and “candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in Papineau.”

The Twitter feed includes several photos of what appears to be Lloyd at CPC events or posing with Harper. There are also numerous photos of discarded Tim Hortons coffee cups.