Canadian candidate says he ran to mess with Tories

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32729470

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A Conservative Party candidate in Canada has resigned his candidacy, revealing it was a "performance art project".

CTV News reports that Chris Lloyd resigned as the Conservative candidate for a seat in a liberal-leaning Montreal district on Tuesday, according to a Conservative party spokesperson.

Lloyd said he only became a candidate because he was the only applicant.

In interviews, he said he wanted to "mess" with the party.

Lloyd was considered an "interesting" but "unusual" candidate for the Tories. He was not projected to win this October, CTV News reports.

Lloyd has been sending letters to prime minister of Canada Stephen Harper since 2001, according to his "Dear PM" website. His Twitter feed has several photos of him with Stephen Harper.

In a "letter" to Harper on Tuesday, Lloyd wrote: "Though my candidacy with the Conservative Party was short-lived I remain hopeful that this experience provides fresh insights into the nature of, and the relationship between, the personal and the political in this, the age of social media. I hope the dialogue continues."

He wrote that with the "project" he wanted to test the limits of free speech and "explore the possibilities of voicing independent views," and that making art is an "inherently political act."