Toronto (September 15, 2021) – Two federal NDP candidates have stepped down after revelations of their tweets, including antisemitic conspiracy theories exposed by Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) earlier this week.

The NDP announced today that Toronto-St. Paul’s candidate Sidney Coles and Cumberland-Colchester candidate Dan Osborne have ended their campaigns and “have agreed to educate themselves further about antisemitism.”

On Sunday, FSWC exposed and denounced Coles’ tweets in which she repeatedly accused Israel of misappropriating U.S. supplies of the coronavirus vaccine. Coles apologized after the organization called on the candidate to issue a retraction and detailed apology for her false and offensive remarks that hurt members of the Jewish community.

A tweet in which Osborne asked if Auschwitz was a real place also surfaced.

“We are relieved the candidates have stepped down and committed to participating in antisemitism education, and we thank NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh for his leadership in ensuring this outcome,” said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, director of policy at FSWC. “Amid rising Jew-hatred in this country, all political parties and leaders must send a message, loud and clear, that antisemitism will not be tolerated in any shape or form.”

FSWC has been in contact with the NDP and offered to provide educational programs that focus on antisemitism and the Holocaust to the candidates.