OTTAWA — Liberal Leader Mark Carney said on Monday he was “unaware” that Liberal staffers had planted some fake Trump-style buttons at a conservative conference last week but nonetheless apologized for this “unreservedly” on behalf on his campaign.

“This is totally unacceptable, to be absolutely clear,” he said at a campaign stop in Montreal in response to CBC News, who broke the story on Sunday. “I was unaware of this behaviour, but on behalf of my campaign, I apologize for it unreservedly.”

“I’ve made it absolutely clear to my campaign that this behaviour or anything approximating it or in that spirit is unacceptable (and) cannot happen again,” he added.

Carney said the staffers who were responsible for planting the buttons, have been “reassigned within the campaign.”

Liberal staffers were caught bragging about how they planted buttons at last week’s Canada Strong and Free Network conference, also known as the Manning Conference, in downtown Ottawa. The conversation happened in earshot of a CBC reporter on Friday.

In a statement provided Sunday night, Liberal spokesperson Kevin Lemkay acknowledged the button controversy, suggesting that it was a joke that got carried away.

One of the buttons said “Stop the Steal,” referencing U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Others reportedly included a “Free Alberta” button alongside a pair of handcuffs, a “Lock Justin Up” button printed over prison bars, a “Vote for Carney is a Vote for WEXIT,” and a “Danielle Smith for CPC Leader 2026” button.

Another featured Tory campaign director Jenni Byrne’s crossed-off name, alongside Conservative strategist Kory Teneycke, in reference to reports of party infighting over campaign strategy.

Calgary-area MP Michelle Rempel Garner called the spread of fake campaign pins “disgusting.”

— With files from Adam Huras, Postmedia.

More details to follow.

National Post
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