HALIFAX—A Nova Scotia man who pulled out of his candidacy for the People’s Party of Canada on Monday said he’s since been subjected to “abuse and hatred” from the “far-right fringe.”

“I’ve received an absolute deluge, a complete torrent of abuse and hatred and harassment from some very unhinged elements of the far-right fringe on Twitter,” Chad Hudson said in an interview Tuesday. “It certainly hasn’t been pleasant. It has definitely been very threatening, to be perfectly honest with you.”

Hudson announced Monday afternoon via Twitter that he was no longer standing as a candidate for the People’s Party in the riding of West Nova, citing the party’s “values and the choices its leadership have made.”

He posted his statement less than two hours before the Elections Canada deadline for candidates to officially register to be on the ballot in the Oct. 21 general election.

“I do understand that there are some people who are legitimately disappointed by the timing of it,” Hudson said. “It is coincidental, in all honesty. Although it may not look that way, there was no ulterior motive to my timing whatsoever.”

Hudson was reluctant to comment further as to the nature of the hateful and threatening comments he’s received. But when asked if he was fearful, he paused.

“That’s a tough one to answer. I would say yes, I do to a certain extent have concerns for my own personal safety,” he said.

He provided a screenshot of a now-deleted tweet he perceives as a personal threat and one he planned to share with police. The Twitter user calls Hudson a scumbag and snake, noting “Next time I see Chad in town I’m going to stop him and have a little talk.”

Leader Maxime Bernier has denounced “mass immigration” and “extreme multiculturalism,” promising to dramatically reduce the number of immigrants admitted to Canada. He has also vowed to repeal the Canadian Multiculturalism Act and promote Canadian culture and values.

Hudson, 30, said he’d always wanted to run for public office. Despite reservations about what he described as some of the “more extreme elements” of the People’s Party, when approached to become their West Nova candidate he saw an opportunity.

Initially attracted to the party’s fiscal conservatism, Hudson said he was pushed to withdraw his candidacy at the 11th hour after a “steady drip, drip, drip” of concerns.

He points to the party’s “Say NO to Mass Immigration” billboards featuring leader Maxime Bernier as “deeply concerning.” Hudson, who says he firmly believes in climate change, said Bernier’s online attacks aimed at 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg showed “extremely poor judgment” by “an immature, petty leader” not suited to be prime minister.

“Every time there was one of these bozo eruptions, I became very leery of it (the party), but I was told no, no, don’t worry about it, and I had made that commitment to serve, so I really didn’t want to let people down,” he said.

“At the end of the day I have to do what I feel is right, and I have to put my own conscience first. I have to stand up for that, and I have to call out what I see as something that’s very divisive and dangerous for our communities and our country.”

The “tipping point” for Hudson came following clashes between demonstrators and Bernier supporters during a People’s Party event in Hamilton, Ont., Sunday night where Bernier and American political commentator David Rubin were hosting a roundtable discussion on free speech.

“The brawl that happened outside there in Hamilton was really concerning stuff,” Hudson said.

“What he’s tapped into, it’s awakened something very dark and dangerous in this country, and I don’t want to be a part of it. I’d rather shine some light on it and try to be a part of helping people come back together.”

If Hudson does consider running for office in the future, the only thing he can say for certain is it won’t be as a People’s Party candidate because he is “sickened” with the style of divisive politics he believes they’re espousing.

“We don’t want to go down the road of what we see going on south of the border,” he said.

Hudson said he never had any direct conversations with Bernier and he hasn’t spoken with anyone representing the party since releasing his Twitter statement to withdraw his candidacy on Monday.

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“Aside from their supporters targeting me online, I think the party has made some attempts to reach out,” he said. “I have not taken their calls. I don’t feel I have anything to say to them at this point. I think everything I need to say has been said in the public domain.”

The People’s Party of Canada did not immediately respond to the Star’s request for comment. But when asked Monday night about Hudson’s departure, People’s Party executive director Johanne Mennie told iPolitics she “didn’t want to talk about that” and wouldn’t answer other questions.

Hudson hasn’t yet decided who’ll get his vote on Oct. 21, but he urges all Canadians to vote for the leader, party and platform they believe can best bring the country together and heal some of the “divisions.”

When asked what lessons he’s learned from this experience, Hudson said there are many.

“The biggest thing is it has really forced me to sit down and have some real serious introspection about the state of our politics today and about my own values and about what our values are as Canadians,” he said.

“It has certainly taught me a lot about the political process and certainly about what we need to do to try to get politics back to where it should be, as something that can help people and try to bring people together, not divide them. What I’ve certainly seen from here is the darker side of politics.”

Yvette d’Entremont is a Halifax-based reporter focusing on health. Follow her on Twitter: @ydentremont

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