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MONTREAL — Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada is defending one of its candidates who has promoted conspiracy theorists online and suggested the fight against climate change is akin to the Islamic State.

Party spokesman Martin Masse said Ken Pereira may have “eccentric” personal opinions, but the Quebec City-area candidate is an important personality in the province.

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“He defends our values and believes in our values, and that’s what’s important for us,” Masse said in an interview Wednesday.

Pereira was one of the first people to blow the whistle on corruption in Quebec’s construction industry, but instead of being noticed for his public service, the former president of an industrial mechanics union is getting attention for his online persona.

He has suggested the measles vaccine will give people autism, and in a tweet last March Pereira wrote, “The climate agenda is as harmful for Western youth as the radical Islamic State is for their youth.” He has also promoted and defended the U.S. sites The Gateway Pundit and Infowars, known for spreading conspiracy theories.