Brent Chapman
Brent Chapman | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Surrey South | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Elenore Sturko |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1959 or 1960 (age 64–65) |
| Political party | BC Conservatives |
| Spouse | Kerry-Lynne Findlay |
Brent Chapman is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2024 British Columbia general election. He represents the electoral district of Surrey South as a member of the Conservative Party of British Columbia.
Early life and career
[edit]Chapman resides in Surrey wife Kerry-Lynne Findlay, a lawyer-turned politician who is currently serving as a Member of Parliament.[1] Together they have four adult children.[2][3] He has a background in acting, producing, broadcasting, writing, and voice coaching. Some of his career highlights include acting in commercials for major brands including Coca-Cola, Sears, and Honda.[1] He also worked as an actor with minor roles in films, including Freddy vs. Jason and The Lizzie McGuire Movie and as a small business owner.[2][3][4]
Political career
[edit]In May Chapman was nominated as the Conservative Party of British Columbia's candidate in Surrey South for the 2024 general election after the incumbent Surrey South MLA, Elenore Sturko, defected from BC United to the Conservatives and ran in nearby Surrey-Cloverdale as a result of changes made after the 2021 electoral redistribution.[5][6]
During the election, Chapman repeatedly apologized for past racist comments and controversial statements listed below, after former BC Liberal MLA and current CKNW radio host Jas Johal drew attention to them.[5][7]
On October 14, 2024, Chapman posted on social media that he had received legal advice not to continue commenting on his previous social media posts. Global News reporters sought to interview him at his campaign office the next day but he was unavailable for questions.[8] When asked whether Chapman would be allowed to sit with the party caucus if elected, BC Conservative leader John Rustad explained that he would not comment further as Chapman had provided clarification on his statements, and had also hired a lawyer. He added that it was up to British Columbians to choose between Chapman or a continued New Democratic government.[8]
Chapman went on to defeat NDP candidate Haroon Ghaffar with 58.8% of the votes, winning a seat in the Legislative Assembly of BC.[5] He currently serves in the official opposition's shadow cabinet as the critic for Transit and ICBC.[1]
Political Controversies
[edit]2015
[edit]In November, Chapman shared a video from fake news website called "Jew News" that misrepresented refugees upset with Macedonian police restrictions as refusing Red Cross packages because of the cross and being non-halal. Chapman called for a boycott of Air Canada because of its role in airlifting Syrian refugees to Canada.[3]
Chapman also made a Facebook post describing Palestinians as "inbred walking, talking, breathing time bombs.". He also described Muslims as inbred and speculated that "coexistence with Islam" was impossible. The National Council of Canadian Muslims criticized his comments as Islamophobic and the B.C. Muslim Association stated that Chapman should resign as a candidate.
2017
[edit]In January, after Donald's Trump victory in the 2016 United States presidential election, Chapman, who had posted pro-Trump content on social media, posted a graphic indicating the proper way to commit suicide by gunshot to help "those liberals who said they would kill themselves if Trump were elected".[9]
In February, Chapman made a social media post suggesting that the Quebec City mosque shooting, Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Aurora theater shooting, and the Pulse nightclub shooting were faked for political reasons. However, on October 14, 2024, Chapman tweeted saying that those shootings were real and he had been questioning the chaotic nature of reporting after such shootings.[5][8]
2024
[edit]In August 2024, one of Chapman's campaign social media accounts reposted a meme that public health harm reduction policies were akin to the fate of the Warsaw Ghetto boy during the Holocaust.[10]
In mid-September, Chapman said on a podcast that he believed that the United Nations was conspiring to control Canadian municipalities via contracts, citing the work of Freedom Convoy protestor Maggie Hope Braun. Chapman also said that the World Health Organization's proposed International Treaty on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response would allow it to confiscate personal property, and that the BC Conservatives had 45 to 50 people who were opposed to the treaty.[11]
Chapman also appeared on a podcast and referred to the mainstream narrative around Canadian Indian residential school gravesites as a "massive fraud" and cult-like, comparing it to Jonestown and Charles Manson.[12] Chapman also said that Canadians should feel proud of their national history.[5] The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs condemned the comments as racist and called for Chapman to be removed as a candidate. Chapman issued a statement saying that the clip was being taken out of context and said that he "[had] an immense amount of respect and love for First Nations people and their historic suffering."[13]
Recent Apology
[edit]In October, 2024 Chapman offered his apologies to all those hurt by his past controversial statements in a statement to Global News stating that his statements "were completely unacceptable", and unreflective of who he is today.[14] He specifically notes the respect and admiration he has for Palestinian and Muslim communities and has taken full responsibility for his past actions.[14] On his campaign trail he also spoke to two fellow Muslim candidates, personally apologizing to them, and has noted travelling to Muslim-majority countries to "build meaningful relationships".[15]
Electoral history
[edit]| 2024 British Columbia general election: Surrey South | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Brent Chapman | 13,056 | 58.8% | |||||
| New Democratic | Haroon Ghaffar | 9,136 | 41.2% | +6.1 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 22,192 | – | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Registered voters | ||||||||
| Source: Elections BC[16] | ||||||||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Brent Chapman at Conservative Party of BC". Conservative Party of BC. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
- ^ a b Browne, Alex (October 9, 2024). "Meet the candidates: Surrey South". Surrey Now-Leader. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c LeBrun, Luke (October 10, 2024). "BC Conservative Candidate Called For 'Boycott' of Air Canada to Stop Airlifts Rescuing Syrian Refugees". PressProgress. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ LeBrun, Luke (October 20, 2024). "Meet the Extreme, Far-Right BC Conservative Candidates Who Are Now Legislators Following BC's Wild Election". PressProgress. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Jussinoja, Kaija (October 19, 2024). "Controversial candidate Brent Chapman wins Surrey South riding". CTV News. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ thebreaker (2024-06-11). "Exclusive: Controversy erupts over Conservative Party of B.C. nomination". theBreaker. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
- ^ "Fresh calls for B.C. Conservative candidate to resign over posts". CBC News. October 15, 2024. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c Judd, Amy; Ke, Grace (October 15, 2024). "BC Conservative candidate refuses to answer questions at campaign office". Global News. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ LeBrun, Luke (October 15, 2024). "BC Conservative Candidate Posted Graphic Instructing Critics of Donald Trump on How to 'Kill Themselves'". PressProgress. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ LeBrun, Luke (October 11, 2024). "BC Conservative Candidate's Campaign Shared Graphic Comparing Public Health Policies to Nazi Holocaust". PressProgress. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ LeBrun, Luke (October 12, 2024). "BC Conservative Candidate Warned of United Nations 'Conspiracies' to Take Control of Canada". PressProgress. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ Jussinoja, Kaija (October 19, 2024). "Controversial candidate Brent Chapman wins Surrey South riding". CTV News. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Chan, Cheryl (October 11, 2024). "B.C. election: Conservative candidate under fire again, this time over residential schools". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Zussman, Richard (October 9, 2024). "Brent Chapman has sent this statement to Global News apologizing for his comments posted earlier tonight by Jas Johal". X. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ CBC News (October 10, 2024). "B.C. Conservative candidate apologizes for 2015 comments about Palestinians". CBC News. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ https://globalnews.ca/news/10779109/bc-election-2024-results-surrey-south/