The Disqualification of Ruby Dhalla Exposes the Liberal Party’s Rotten Core

The Liberal Party’s leadership race has been nothing short of a ruse—a stage-managed spectacle designed to secure Mark Carney’s coronation at the expense of genuine democracy. The disgraceful disqualification of Dr. Ruby Dhalla is the most damning indictment of a party that has appeared to abandon every pretense of fairness, transparency, and respect for its members. From the outset, this was not a competition of ideas or principles; it was a coronation meant to serve the ambitions of a chosen elite while silencing any credible challenge.

Dr. Dhalla’s removal from the race on allegations of financial irregularities was a blatant act of political suppression orchestrated by a faceless, unaccountable committee that operated in complete secrecy. The timing of this disqualification is no coincidence. When she was gaining momentum in internal polling—momentum that the media conveniently ignored—the party brass began to panic. Unlike the dubious media-commissioned polls that painted a predetermined narrative, Dhalla’s growing support among Liberal members was a threat the establishment could not tolerate. The party was terrified that, left to an actual vote, members might choose someone other than the anointed candidate. And so, she was eliminated.

The fear within Carney’s camp was obvious. The most telling moment came when his campaign was the only one that objected to Dhalla having a translator at the French-language debate. It was an act of sheer cowardice. Carney, who has no problem cloaking himself in the privilege of the establishment, knew he was weak in debates and needed Dhalla sidelined. And yet, this same Carney—who conveniently skipped the women’s debate—could have used a translator himself after his disastrous gaffe in which he appeared to agree with Hamas in last night Frech debate. The party is keeping him under bubble wrap, shielding him from scrutiny, and protecting him from the kind of accountability they were all too happy to unleash upon Dhalla.

The role of Liberal Party president Sachit Mehra in overseeing this debacle is indefensible. That he remains in his position after presiding over such a disgraceful process is a testament to the party’s complete lack of accountability. If he had any integrity, he would resign immediately. Instead, he clings to power, overseeing an organization that has lost all moral and political legitimacy. His failure to take responsibility for the party’s betrayal of its members is a stain that will not be forgotten.

Then there is Alexis Levine, the party’s legal counsel, whose mishandling of confidential information has only deepened the party’s trust of its members. The party admitted in a letter to Dr. Dhalla that the leaks of privileged details were “regrettable.” That alone is an admission of guilt. But regrettable does not begin to describe the extent of this violation—it was an intentional and coordinated effort to undermine Dhalla’s campaign. The leaks were not just reckless; they were an attempt to assassinate her character. The most disgraceful moment came when CBC’s Power & Politics ambushed Dhalla on live television, informing her on-air that she had been disqualified. The Liberal Party chose this venue not only to humiliate her but to then parade out its surrogates to further slander her in the public eye. It was a public execution staged by a party terrified of an independent thinker gaining traction with the people.

The allegations leaked to The Globe and Mail about so-called foreign interference were an even more grotesque display of character assassination. The party deliberately fed these false accusations to the media, knowing full well that they were baseless. Eventually, the Liberals retracted them, as did The Globe and Mail, but the damage was already done. The smear had served its purpose—to sow doubt, tarnish her reputation, and create just enough uncertainty to justify her removal.

And yet, where was the scrutiny for Mark Carney? His financial filings showed numerous donors with foreign addresses and donors who contributed multiple times. The same pattern appeared in Chrystia Freeland’s financial records, with individuals making repeated donations. But unlike Dhalla, they were given a pass. The party looked the other way. The media looked the other way. The double standard is staggering, and the hypocrisy is sickening.

Of all five candidates, only Ruby Dhalla’s campaign was subjected to leaks by the party. No other candidate faced the same relentless targeting, the same coordinated takedown. It was disgusting. It was absolutely disgusting. This was never about rules or integrity. It was about silencing a threat.

The party’s handling of this fiasco was so shameful that even days later, not a single Liberal MP—not one—had the decency to reach out to Dhalla to acknowledge her campaign or even to recognize the disgraceful manner in which she was dismissed. Not the Prime Minister. Not a single caucus member. And the so-called minority MPs, who proudly tout themselves as champions of representation and diversity? Silent. Every single one of them. They should be ashamed of themselves. Their silence speaks volumes about the stranglehold that the global elite and party powerbrokers have over these elected officials, all of whom deserve to be voted out this year. Not a single one of them deserves to retain their seat. But this is politics—they are too busy securing their own futures, endorsing the chosen candidate, making sure they stay in the good graces of the establishment.

And then there is the money. The Liberal Party took $350,000 from its members and donors under the guise of running a fair leadership race—only to retain the bulk of that money while barring one of its candidates. But when they disqualified Dhalla, they kept her supporters’ money. Are they that hard up for cash? Are they that desperate that they must rob their members blind? This was not just deception—it was theft. These were hard-earned dollars from Canadians who believed in a fair process. They were lied to.

The Liberal Party has lost any claim to being a democratic institution. Its leadership has shown that it values power above principles, control above competition, and elitism above inclusivity. With leaders like Sachit Mehra and Alexis Levine at the helm, the party has reached a new moral low—one from which it may never recover. Dr. Dhalla’s disqualification is not just an injustice; it is a warning sign of a party willing to trample over its own rules and members to maintain its grip on power.

The media should be ashamed of itself. The scrutiny applied to Dhalla was nowhere to be seen when it came to Carney or Freeland. But what can one expect when major media outlets receive funding from the government? When the government funds the press, the press takes direction. The Liberals knew exactly what they were doing when they orchestrated this disgraceful takedown, and their allies in the media played their roles perfectly.

The party will never recover from this. It has abandoned its principles, betrayed its supporters, and exposed itself as nothing more than a machine designed to serve the interests of a privileged few. After the next election, they should consider themselves lucky if they have enough seats to retain official party status.