Tory hopeful Peter Kent tweets, then retracts, claim that refugee is ISIS fighter

Conservative candidate Peter Kent shared a photo on Twitter Tuesday that falsely claims to show an ISIS fighter posing as a refugee.

Kent, the Tory hopeful in the Greater Toronto Areariding ofThornhill, tweeted the photo, writing: "These 'then and now'pix chilling reminders why prudent/detailed refugee screening essential."

The photo, which has been debunked by the BBC and others, has been circulating widely on social media amid the refugee crisis. The man on the right side of the photo montage actually served as a commander with theFree Syrian Army, a group that fights against ISIS.

Kent deleted his tweetafter Globe and Mail columnist Tabatha Southey and otherTwitter users pointedout his mistake. Kentissued a correction tweet andsaid he was misledby a reliable source.

Following the error,Kent thenretweeteda post from political pundit Ezra Levantsuggesting that most refugees are men.

In fact, the UN's refugee agency's statisticssuggestabout23 per cent of registered Syrian refugees are men over 18. The pageLevant linksto says72 per cent oftotal refugee and migrant Mediterranean sea arrivals (all nationalities)are men. Justover half of the total sea arrivalsare Syrians.

Kent is the third Conservative candidate in recent days to run into controversy.

Tim Dutaud, the nowformer Tory candidate for Toronto-Danforth, was dropped by the party over the weekend for failing to disclose prank calls he made in which he faked the sounds of anorgasm and mockedmentally disabled people.

Jerry Bance, the former Conservativecandidate for Scarborough-Rouge Park, was bootedfor failing to disclose he had beencaught on videotape urinating in a mug while working as a repairman.

Kent, whopreviously served asminister of the environment,was shuffled out of Stephen Harper's cabinet in the summer of 2013.