Liberal party kicks Ruby Dhalla out of leadership race

OTTAWA — Former MP Ruby Dhalla was disqualified from the Liberal leadership race Friday after the party’s vote committee said she had violated multiple rules.

Dhalla rejected the decision — which comes five days after contestants paid the final deposit in the $350,000 entry fee and three days before the candidate debates in Montreal — and said the party just did not want her to win.

Party national director Azam Ishmael said in a statement published late Friday that the decision was made unanimously by a joint sitting of both the vote and expense committees, which “determined that Dr. Dhalla was in breach of 10 violations of the National Leadership Rules, Leadership Vote Rules, and the Leadership Expense Rules,” he said.

He said those include alleged violations of the Canada Elections Act, not disclosing “material facts,” inaccurate financial reporting and other election finance violations.

Ishmael said the investigation was extensive, including “interviews, questionnaires and an opportunity for Dr. Dhalla to directly address the committees.”

“The Leadership Vote Committee determined that the violations were extremely serious, accepted the recommendation of the chief electoral officer and disqualified Dr. Dhalla under section 8(i) of the National Leadership Rules,” he wrote.

However, in an interview, Dhalla said she received a text from the party telling her she was going to be disqualified by the end of the day, before she was interviewed by the committee.

She did still make a submission to the committee and said she then heard from CBC News that the decision had been confirmed, before she got anything more from the party.

“It’s a sad day for democracy, it’s a sad day for the Liberal party,” said Dhalla. “They have taken out now the second person of an immigrant community out of the race, this is not the Liberal party, certainly, that is the voice of the immigrants who helped build it.”

Ottawa MP Chandra Arya was disqualified at the start of the race but the party did not provide a public explanation.

Dhalla called the allegations against her “false” and “fabricated.”

“Yesterday was foreign interference, today it’s financial violations and who knows what they’ll say tomorrow, but it’s clear that they did not want me on that debate stage and wanted to keep me off the ballot.”

Dhalla said her campaign’s internal polling showed that she was building momentum and that she and Mark Carney were “running neck to neck” in some areas and that the party eliminated her because they wanted to “complete the coronation for Carney.”

Multiple polls have suggested that Carney is the clear front-runner in the leadership race. A Leger poll for The Canadian Press also suggested with him at the party’s helm the Liberals would be tied in the polls with the Conservatives, which would be a stunning reversal after the Liberals trailed by more than 20 points for over a year.

Carney also leads the race in fundraising, with campaign data released by Elections Canada showing that he had raised $1.9 million as of Feb. 9. Dhalla came in last out of all the candidates, raising $144,880.

Dhalla said the timing of the allegations was also “interesting.”

She confirmed that the party had sent her 27 questions asking about various campaign issues but that they only came after she had sent the final instalment of the $350,000 entry fee.

“It’s unfortunate because we actually provided the party with all of the supporting documentation, even in places where they were overreaching, even in places where it would not be required,” Dhalla said. “I think they actually had a preset, determined agenda.”

Dhalla said there is an appeal process available but that she is “taking a look at all options.” She attended a preplanned fundraising event in Mississauga, Ont., Friday night despite the party’s decision.

In posts on X, Dhalla identified some of the concerns raised by the party but said she had done nothing wrong.

She said six out of several hundred donations involved a couple using their joint credit card to make donations for both the husband and wife.

“This is entirely LEGAL,” she posted.

She said another “fabricated violation” was that donors made $21,000 in contributions directly to her campaign instead of using the required custom link that sends the funds first to the party.

“The campaign refunded the donations and asked the donors to resubmit them via the customized link,” she said. “These donations estimated $21,000. This was not a VIOLATION. Yet another fake, false and fabricated allegation, designed to keep me from the ballot.”

This disqualification narrows the field to four candidates: former Bank of Canada governor Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, Montreal businessman Frank Baylis and former Liberal House leader Karina Gould.

They will face each other in a French-language debate in Montreal Monday, followed by an English-language debate on Tuesday.

The party selects its next leader on March 9.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2025.

Kyle Duggan, Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press