Canadian John Turmel is arguably the most determined would-be politician in the world.
He鈥檚 set Guinness World Records by running for public office 鈥� and losing 鈥� more than 90 times, and when he leaves an all-candidate debate, it鈥檚 often with a police escort.
But all those failures haven鈥檛 stopped Turmel from running for municipal, provincial or federal office as an independent candidate, again and again and again. And he says nothing will stop him from seeking a provincial seat once more in the Ontario election this summer.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel bad whatsoever about not winning these elections,鈥� Turmel told CTVNews.ca by telephone from his home in Brantford, Ont.
The 67-year-old has been an eccentric figure at general and byelection debates since he started running for office in 1979. He鈥檚 nearly impossible to miss, with his lucky playing card tie, his outspoken presence and his white hardhat plastered with the name 鈥淛ohn 鈥楾he Engineer鈥� Turmel.鈥�
鈥淭he Engineer鈥� is one of many nicknames the Ontario resident has adopted, after earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering from Carleton University in the 1970s. Some of his other nicknames, such as 鈥淛iu Jitsu John,鈥� 鈥淪pock鈥� and the 鈥淭aj Professor,鈥� seem to be ones he uses for himself on his and .
Perhaps his most notable nickname is John 鈥渢he World Record Holder鈥� Turmel. According to the , he holds records for most elections contested (90) and lost (89), although he鈥檚 contested three more elections since that count was taken in late 2016. He says the next-closest contender for his records died years ago with only thirty-something elections under his belt, so he feels quite secure in his title as the world鈥檚 most unsuccessful election candidate.
In fact, the only time Turmel wasn鈥檛 defeated in 2008, when his bid for a Guelph federal byelection victory (or loss) was by a general election.
But he says he keeps coming back to run another day because he鈥檚 irked by the 鈥済eneric鈥� nature of most politicians. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e all the same,鈥� he said. 鈥淣o matter what the issue, they鈥檙e in favour of it being better.鈥�
Dragons, gambling, combat and courtrooms
Turmel is combative, passionate and long-winded, with strong views on gambling, government overreach and medical marijuana, to name just a few of his favourite topics. He thinks elections are rigged, the banking system is broken, and that Donald Trump is being victimized by a shadowy cabal of career U.S. government employees, dubbed the 鈥渄eep state鈥� by right-wing conspiracy theorists. He also strongly believes in a number of theories that fly in the face of science, such as and .
And if he ever got into office, Turmel鈥檚 plan would be simple: he鈥檇 legalize all forms of sex, drugs, gambling and prostitution, then he鈥檇 鈥渇ix the money system and then get out of people鈥檚 lives.鈥� He鈥檇 also implement what he calls his 鈥渢ime-based currency鈥� system, which he says is based on an 鈥渆quation鈥� developed by Jesus to eliminate usury.
Turmel spends much of his time championing lawsuits against the government in court, but that鈥檚 not his full-time job. 鈥淚鈥檓 a professional gambler,鈥� he said. 鈥淧rofessional gambling is basically combat, same with politics.鈥� He says he 鈥渞etired鈥� from that self-styled career two years ago, when he started receiving his pension.
Turmel鈥檚 boisterous approach to politics has been well-documented over the years, both in local newspapers and, more recently, on YouTube, where video shows him being thrown out of byelections in Sault Ste. Marie (2017) and Ottawa-Vanier (2016). His own YouTube page is also a treasure trove of off-beat political views.
Turmel is also very familiar with the Canadian court system, having participated in several lawsuits, appealed a number of marijuana-related rulings or appeared to face charges on numerous occasions throughout his adult life.
He has a handful of minor convictions such as , and by breaching a publication ban on his own brother鈥檚 drug possession trial by posting about it on his website.
But one of Turmel鈥檚 favourite cases to discuss is the he launched against two cast members of the reality TV show 鈥淒ragon鈥檚 Den.鈥� He appeared on a 2010 episode of the show, in which two of the Dragons mocked his pitch.
His libel suit was ultimately dismissed and his appeal request refused, but Turmel didn鈥檛 give up the cause entirely. He took to YouTube in 2011 to argue his case against the Dragons, in a that has garnered just over 200 views since it was posted.
Making a scene with the 'King of the Paupers'
Turmel is the founder and sole member of the Pauper Party of Canada, so there are few who have fought in the political trenches alongside him. His one longtime companion is his girlfriend, Eva, who has been with him for 13 years. Aside from her, he says people are 鈥渢oo dumbed down鈥� to take on his crusade against the banks.
鈥淢r. Spock never needed any help from the slows in reprogramming a central computer to save a planet,鈥� he said, in an apparent reference to Star Trek. 鈥淣either do I.鈥�
One person who has been in Turmel鈥檚 corner 鈥� albeit temporarily 鈥� is Above Znoneofthe, another independent candidate who legally changed his name from Sheldon Adelson in 2016. (The name appears as 鈥淶noneofthe, Above鈥� at the bottom of an election ballot.) Znoneofthe has contested five elections and faced Turmel in three of them, including the Ottawa-Vanier federal byelection and the Sault Ste. Marie provincial byelection. Znoneofthe received 164 votes to Turmel鈥檚 48 in the , and 313 to Turmel鈥檚 47 in .
鈥淚 was inspired by him 鈥� once,鈥� Znoneofthe told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview. That was in 2016, when Turmel and Znoneofthe were told they would not be allowed to participate in the Ottawa-Vanier byelection鈥檚 all-candidates鈥� debate. Turmel argued that independent candidates also deserved a seat at the table, in a heated exchange that was captured on video.
The video posted online shows Turmel鈥檚 yelling at volunteers and, later, police. Znoneofthe can be seen sitting quietly nearby throughout the argument, which ends with both candidates being escorted off the debate stage by police.
鈥淕et off the f***ing stage!鈥� a man shouts at Turmel in the video, drawing hoots and applause from the audience. His eventual departure from the stage also drew cheers and clapping.
Znoneofthe says he was thankful to have Turmel stand up for his democratic rights.
WARNING: The following video contains harsh language.
Turmel had another tense stand-off at a debate in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., last year, which Znoneofthe described as 鈥渁 little unnecessary.鈥� He said the debate volunteers were 鈥渘ice people,鈥� whom he didn鈥檛 think deserved to be shouted down.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to make a point for democracy,鈥� said Znoneofthe, who was also at the debate. 鈥淚t鈥檚 another thing to make it a stunt all the time.鈥�
Turmel insists he鈥檚 only ever been arrested 鈥� never charged 鈥� for his debate confrontations.
鈥淭hey exclude me from debates, that鈥檚 how much of a motor-mouth I am,鈥� he said.
Znoneofthe says Turmel鈥檚 theatrics can make it difficult for other independents to be seen as anything more than 鈥渇ringe鈥漜andidates.
鈥淵ou think, 鈥楿gh, that鈥檚 what all those other parties are,鈥欌�� he said.
鈥淚f that鈥檚 what happens when you鈥檙e the Guinness World Record holder for running the most times, I鈥檓 not going for his record,鈥� Znoneofthe said. Znoneofthe says he will contest the provincial election in his hometown of Thornhill, and if that doesn鈥檛 work out, he鈥檒l change his name back to Sheldon.
But Turmel seems entirely content to remain on the fringe, where he鈥檚 proud to use his democratic right to free speech to promote his 鈥済rand, epic and righteous鈥� cause.
And, perhaps, to build on his impressively ineffective election record.
鈥淣o one鈥檚 ever going to crack mine,鈥� he says.
