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OTTAWA — The Conservatives stumbled as the federal election reached an unofficial milestone on Monday, dropping two candidates from their slate in the important battleground of the Greater Toronto Area after embarrassing videos surfaced in the mainstream media and online.

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Jerry Bance, who was running in Scarborough Rouge Park, was the first to go after reportedly being caught on camera urinating into a coffee cup while he was an appliance repairman.

The day got worse as Tim Dutaud, the candidate in Toronto-Danforth, was declared persona non grata by the federal party a short time later.

A Conservative official confirmed a man seen making prank calls in several YouTube videos — including one where he pretends to have a mental disability — is Dutaud.

The revelation came just before Prime Minister Stephen Harper said re-elected Conservatives would improve a federal disability grant program, one championed by Jim Flaherty, the late finance minister.

During a campaign stop in Mississauga, Ont., Harper tersely attempted to put the best spin on the losses when asked what the incidents said about the quality of candidates he was attracting.

“What this says is that we keep the highest standard for candidates and these two individuals are no longer candidates,” said Harper, who later in the five-question availability indicated that the Conservatives would find replacements for both ridings.