Some candidates dropped by parties after gaffes will stay on ballot

The Conservatives may have dumped Toronto candidateJagdish Grewal for writing abouttherapies to turn gay youth straight, but voters in his riding will still be able to cast a ballot for him on election day.

The same goes for formerB.C. hopeful Cheryl Thomas,who resigned from the Liberalslast week after calling mosques "brainwashing stations" on Facebook.

• Replacement candidate scramble goes down to the wire
• Expelled Conservative Jagdish Grewal says he's not homophobic
• Tories dump candidate who touts therapies to turn gay youth straight
• Liberal candidate Cheryl Thomas resigns over Facebook comments

That's becauseElections Canada prohibitsany candidatesfrom being replaced after thedeadline to register as acandidate, even if they areremoved or forced to resign from the race.The deadlinethis election wasSept.28. Grewal was dropped by the party Oct. 6, while Thomas resigned Sept. 30.

BothGrewalandThomasremain the official candidates for the Conservatives and Liberals respectivelyin the eyes of Elections Canada, and their names will be on ballots along with theirformerparty affiliation.

"From our point of view, because [Grewal] became the official candidate, he will remain on the ballot with his name associated with the party," said SergeFleyfel with Elections Canada media relations.

The Liberals almost had another ex-candidateremain on the ballot. The party scrambledto fill its candidacyinthe B.C. riding of Cowichan-Malahat-Langford, after Maria Manna resignedon the day of the Elections Canadadeadline over Facebookposts she had made questioning the Sept. 11 attacks. The party addedcandidateLuke Krayenhoff at the last minute.

No records kept

Technically, both Grewal and Thomas could still be elected.

If either candidate is victorious,Fleyfelsaid he or she wouldbe able tochoose to serve as an IndependentMP or to resign.

However,Grewal isn't ready to fullycede his affiliation with the Conservativesjust yet. He told CBC News Wednesday that he will continue to use Conservative campaign signs and hopes to be reinstated in the party after the election.Grewal maintains that theeditorial in thePunjabi Post that led to his ouster was mistranslated and that he is not homophobic.

Elections Canada does not keep records about how many candidates remain on the ballot after dropping out, but the situationhas happened before.

Julian West, a federal candidate for the NDP inSaanich-Gulf Islandsduring the 2008 election, was forced to resign after reports that he stripped naked in front of a group of teenage girls at a retreat in 1996. West's name remained on the ballot because hisresignation came after the deadline.

He received5.69 per cent of the vote placing fourth out of eight candidates.