A candidate for a federal government seat is defending a video where he showcased his support for American President Donald Trump three years ago.

Koltyn Wallar, a candidate for an MP seat in Kitchener-Conestoga, represents the new People’s Party of Canada, a right-wing, populist party that is led by Maxime Bernier.

Over the weekend, Facebook users who appeared to be ex-classmates of Wallar’s at Forest Heights Collegiate Institute, voiced their concerns over Wallar’s candidacy, and posted videos of him singing the anthem in 2016 following Trump’s election win.

Brooklyn Lemieux, claiming to be a former classmate of Wallar's, posted that he came to school in Make America Great Again clothing every day during Trump’s election campaign.

Lemieux posted a video of Wallar singing The Star-Spangled Banner.

“Disgusting candidate and even more disgusting person,” wrote Lemieux.

“The day after the American election, I was invited by the teacher of that class to sing the American Anthem in front of the class as a joke,” said Wallar in an email to the Independent. “He thought it would be entertaining, so I obliged. Nearly the entire class thought it was funny as well. I cannot recall where the American flag came from, though I believe it came from a fellow student.

“Ms. Lemieux's Facebook post and the comments on that post constitute character assassination. One has to be prepared for this when they enter politics. I am not a "disgusting person" for supporting Donald Trump. That kind of thinking is part of the polarization that is killing rational discourse in Canada and other countries.”

Wallar is a political science student at Wilfrid Laurier University. The 20-year-old is the first Kitchener-Conestoga candidate from the People’s Party of Canada. Maxime Bernier, a former candidate as leader of the Conservative Party, is the leader of the PPC, which formed in 2018. The PPC has a candidate in all of the ridings for the upcoming election.