Controversial MPP Randy Hillier will not run for re-election in June

Posted March 3, 2022 8:10 pm.
Last Updated March 3, 2022 9:19 pm.
Controversial MPP Randy Hillier, who has been a vocal anti-lockdown advocate during the COVID-19 pandemic, has announced he will not seek re-election in June.
Hillier, who has represented Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston since 2018, made the announcement Thursday evening in a 20-minute social media post, saying his decision will be greeted with sadness by some and with glee by others.
“I’ve had the support of the people of Lanark-Frontenac for 15 years, often with very substantial majorities. And in the last few years, especially since I came out opposing the narrative that we were living in the most dangerous of times of COVID, …I’ve been offside with public opinion,” he said.
“We have in effect been ruled by the mob for the last couple of years and I don’t see that ending anytime soon.”
In March 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Hillier was removed from the Progressive Conservative caucus for his conduct after being suspended for mocking a group of parents of children with autism at Queen’s Park. He claimed he was suspended due to clashes with some of Premier Doug Ford’s most senior advisers.
Throughout the pandemic, he has frequently posted misinformation and conspiracy theories and been ticketed for allegedly breaking public health rules.
Last November, Hillier was forced to apologize after using an array of photos from news articles to suggest – without evidence – that these individuals had died due to COVID-19 vaccinations. Premier Ford said he was disgusted and appalled by Hillier’s allegations, adding “the guy’s lost his mind. I ignore him.”
More recently Hillier came under intense criticism for supporting and attending the Ottawa occupation by anti-vaccine mandate protesters. On Twitter, he appeared to urge people to jam 911 lines with non-emergency calls, leading to Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson referring to him as a “complete disgrace.”
Last month the Ontario legislature unanimously passed a motion barring him from the chamber and calling on him to apologize for what Government House Leader Paul Calandra called racist and discriminatory statements about federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, and for social media posts that Calandra says were insinuating a call to violence.