91原创 Libertarian Party of Canada candidate Alex Joehl is pulling out of the 91原创-Aldergrove race in the federal election.
Joehl, who was listed on the as candidate, called his withdrawal 鈥渂oth the easiest and the hardest decision I鈥檝e made in quite some time,鈥� citing the challenge of gathering the in a short time span, and contracting COVID-19.
鈥淲hile the major political parties don鈥檛 bat an eye at this requirement [to have 100 registered voters sign nominating papers] , those in smaller parties often find themselves struggling to get it done, especially when it is a snap election that鈥檚 called and time becomes scarce,鈥� Joehl commented.
鈥淚 am in no way disparaging the requirement of 100 signatures,鈥� Joehl added.
鈥淚t is important that a candidate has the support of their constituency, and it鈥檚 a great way to begin a campaign 鈥� but it does take time, and unfortunately time is not on my side.鈥�
On August 14, the day before Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau called the election, Joehl, who has not been vaccinated, said he tested positive for Covid-19 and was instructed to quarantine himself until August 24.
鈥淎nd then I got sicker,鈥� Joehl continued.
鈥淭he virus took me down a peg, and I did not start to recover from the symptoms until the tail-end of my mandated isolation. So even when the public health authority deemed me safe to return to public life, I was tired and lacked the energy needed to begin a campaign for Member of Parliament. And, after returning to work, I lacked the time needed as well.鈥�
READ ALSO: Libertarian Alex Joehl runs for Township mayor
Joehl added that he has run in five straight elections 鈥� 2017 (provincial), 2018 (mayor), 2019 (federal), 2020 (provincial) and 2021 (school trustee), 鈥渁nd I don鈥檛 want to burn out, because there are many more elections yet to come.鈥�
He has considered endorsing another candidate, 鈥渂ut I still have work to do to decide who I will be voting for, if I will be voting at all.鈥�
He asked 91原创-Aldergrove voters not to 鈥渟imply hold your nose and pick the lesser of two (or five?) evils in 2021.鈥�
鈥淒o your homework and decide which candidate you really support sending to Ottawa as your representative, and if you don鈥檛 find anyone worthy of that support, just stay home on Sept. 20.鈥�
He thanked those who supported him this year, saying 鈥淚 will not let you down again in the future.鈥�
READ ALSO: Seniors a topic of Aldergrove鈥檚 election debate
On Twitter, Joehl has described himself as a 鈥渃raft beer-loving, pop punk-listening, unemployed sports writer, who is active in the #liberty movement and manages a meat department in 91原创.鈥�
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