Aaron Gunn, the Conservative Party's candidate for the North Island - Powell River riding, has come under fire for some of his social media posts.

The posts appear mostly on X, formerly known as Twitter,  and range from topics of supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin to opposing the "gay rights lobby" and more. 

Some of the tweets are also focused on residential schools. 

Bob Chamberlain, former vice-chief of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, has called for the Conservative Party of Canada to drop Gunn as a candidate. On April 3, the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) released a press release calling for the party to drop Gunn. 

"The FNLC is joining calls for the Conservative Party of Canada to drop Aaron Gunn, the candidate for North Island-Powell River, due to his horrific and offensive posts on X between 2019 and 2021 refuting that Indigenous people faced a genocide in Canada and that residential schools were asked for by Indigenous bands. Such attitudes are extremely harmful and divisive and should not be held by those in public office," reads the release. 

"I am a residential school survivor so he needs to be disqualified from running," Chief Darren Blaney of the Holmalco First Nation, told the Campbell River Mirror. 

.. any comment ?

— Bob Chamberlin (@1Bob_Chamberlin)

"Why are the report authors (and now ̨ÍåMMÂãÁÄÊÒ) sensationalizing truly horrific events, that need to be examined honestly and seriously, with a loaded word like 'genocide' that doesn't remotely reflect the reality of what happened?" Gunn posted on June 4, 2019. 

It was in response to a tweet that explained the Canadian government only recognized five genocides, which did not include First Nations and Inuit People in Canada.

"There was no genocide. Stop lying to people and read a book," Gunn posted on Oct. 22, 2020. "The Holocaust was a genocide. Get off Twitter and learn more about the world."

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum describes genocide as certain acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. 

The museum also cites the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948). According to the convention, the acts of genocide fall into five categories: 

• Killing members of the group
• Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
• Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction, in whole or in part
• Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
• Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

The Canadian Museum of Human Rights has recognized the experience of Indigenous people in Canada as genocide. A key component of that genocide, they say, is the residential school system. 

Some First Nations and Inuit people were subject to forced relocation. Compulsory sterilization policies were also imposed on First Nations people all over Canada from 1928 until the 1970s. However, the Standing Committee on Human Rights in Canada found forced and coerced sterilization was still happening in a report released in June 2021 by Salma Ataullahjan. 

"I understand that people have a misinformed view of history which they have reached following a steady and persistent attempt to discredit Canada's past to undermine its institutions and future," Gunn posted on June 13, 2021. 

Gunn posted again on June 13, 2021. 

"Residential schools were asked for by Indigenous bands in Eastern Ontario when John A. Macdonald was still a teenager, but hey, why let the truth get in the way of a good headline." 

The tweets were front and centre when the B.C. Liberal Party ousted Gunn from running as an MLA in 2021. 

He posted a video, titled 'Is Canada a Genocidal State?' On his YouTube Channel. 

"We should not be comparing our errors and misdeeds with the horror of the Holocaust. Residential schools were a misguided and destructive policy. Colonization clearly led to the spread of disease and suffering for many Indigenous people but that is a lot different than the deliberate killing of First Nations with the aim of eradicating them as an ethnic group... And historical facts and the language we use to describe them matter, which is why this is an issue where I will not back down."

The Conservative Party told the Campbell River Mirror on April 3 that Gunn has been "clear in recognizing the truly horrific events that transpired in residential schools, and any attempt to suggest otherwise is simply false." A spokesperson linked to the tweet Gunn posted on June 4, 2019, mentioned above. 

The party also directed the Mirror to the unanimous consent motion recognizing residential schools as genocide that passed on Oct. 27, 2022. Gunn is not an elected official and would not have been part of that debate. 

The party also pointed the Mirror to a comment from party leader Pierre Poilievre last year at the AFN Assembly. The comment acknowledged the removal of children from the care of their families, calling it a monstrous abuse of excessive governmental power that cut Indigenous children away from their cultures, languages, and traditions.

"We must acknowledge the terrible mistakes of our past and learn from our history while celebrating Canada as the greatest country on earth," Sam Lilly, press secretary for the Conservative Party, told the Mirror. "Mr. Gunn, along with great candidates such as former Haisla Chief Ellis Ross, is looking forward to repealing the Liberal's radical anti-resource laws to quickly green-light good projects so First Nations and all Canadians bring home more powerful paycheques."

In 2014, Gunn posted on Facebook praising Vladimir Putin. 

"Only someone ignorant of history, geopolitics and life in general would continue to spew out the diatribe you do on a regular basis. Putin stabilized Russia after a disastrous experiment with Western Democracy. While you might argue he was not elected free of controversy, he was elected multiple times and holds significantly more support among his population than most of his Western counterparts. He is incredibly intelligent and geopolitically savvy - much more than us. He rules with a very strong central government, but he is not a murderous dictator. Just because you don't agree with him or find yourself at odds with traditional Russian values doesn't earn you the right to hyperbole and outlandish statements," Gunn's post reads. 

NEW - Some troubling past comments from Vancouver Island Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn. In his comments posted in February of 2014, Mr. Gunn defends Vladamir Putin, offers opinions on the 'gay rights lobby' in Russia, and the opposition in Ukraine. 1/3

— Jas Johal (@JasJohalBC)

Gunn acknowledged this post on his X account on April 2, saying he is firmly opposed to Putin's heinous and illegal actions in Ukraine and his oppression of Russian people within Russia. Gunn says he has held and articulated these views publicly for years.

"In early 2014, when I was still in my early 20s, I made foolish comments about Putin and Ukraine. I stopped holding those views a long time ago," he said about the Facebook post. "Canada must support Ukraine in their defence against Russia's illegal invasion, including by building pipelines to tidewater to displace Russian oil and gas and stop the funding of Putin's war machine. A point I have made consistently in documentaries and viral videos since their illegal invasion in 2022."

Lilly directed the Mirror to the above statement from Gunn. 

"The imprudent comments in question were posted when he was in his early 20s, and Mr. Gunn ceased holding those views long ago," he said. "In fact, in recent years, Mr. Gunn has specifically spoken about the need to break Putin's energy stranglehold on Europe, including through the development of ethical Canadian oil and natural gas."