Interim leader of the British Columbia Conservatives Lorne Doerkson has swiftly dumped a candidate in the provincial election over online posts that the NDP called racist.

Doerkson said Thursday that the posts by Victoria-Beacon Hill candidate Joachim Agou cannot be tolerated and if he is elected, he will not be part of the Conservative caucus.

Agou’s ejection from the Conservative election slate was announced about 90 minutes after Agou’s posts on social media platform X were highlighted by the NDP.

Although Agou’s account has now been deleted, screenshots shared by the NDP show him saying last year that a car that drove through a pro-Palestine protest “should have reversed” over the demonstrators, and he also shared a meme while using an expletive to describe Pakistan.

Agou did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to his campaign.

The Conservative website describes Agou as a professional engineer and small-business owner with more than 15 years of experience in engineering research and industry.

His biography says he was born in France, studied in the United States and came to Canada in 2011.

He is also the interim vice-president of the Victoria Conservative Association.

Doerkson said in a statement that there is “no excuse” for the posts.

He told reporters at an event earlier in the day that he hadn’t seen the allegations, but he “of course” would never support the comments.

“Trust me when I say this, I’ll be looking into them the second I leave this podium.” he said about an hour before Agou’s removal was made public.

NDP candidate Amna Shah had shared the screenshots and called on Doerkson to fire Agou immediately for what she called “horrific racism.”

Victoria-Beacon Hill is consistently considered a safe NDP riding, with the party winning the seat in every provincial election since 2005.

B.C. Conservatives drop candidate over ‘racist’ social media posts