Sheer also refuted reports in July and August that Melek was dropped from a nomination contest for the Ontario Progressive Conservatives due to past anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQ online posts.

The Mississauga News previously reported that Melek's now defunct personal website linked to transphobic content, as well as a speaker who advocated for LGBTQ+ conversion therapy.

"All I can tell you is that Ghada Melek has acknowledged that some of the comments that she had retweeted were insensitive and she has taken responsibility for that," Scheer said.

The Conservative leader then accused the Liberal Party of conspiring to hide "anti-Semitic messages" related to ousted candidate Hassan Guillet. Guillet, who was running for the Liberals in a Montreal-area riding, denies allegations that he is anti-Semitic.

"I'm happy to stack up the record of our candidates across the country with those of the Liberal Party," Sheer said.

At the Mississauga announcement, the Conservative leader introduced a tax credit that would reimburse 15 per cent of the cost of public transit passes if the Conservatives are elected.

Sheer said that the credit would encourage people to use public transit, and would help lower carbon emissions.

Want help making sense of this fall's federal election? There's a new newsletter that you might like. It's called The Lead, and it'll be your whip-smart, can't-miss guide to all the latest election news from across the country, written by veteran political journalist Kady O'Malley. Sign up for The Lead here today to make sure you don't miss an edition.