TORONTO -- The Canadian man who holds a world record for most elections contested and lost is throwing his hat in the race again 鈥 for the 99th time.
With the odds stacked against him, John Turmel is running in the riding of Brantford-Brant, Ont., in the upcoming federal election. The 68-year-old has participated in municipal, provincial and federal elections since 1979.
鈥淚 used to have a sign that said vote John Turmel for MP, MPP or mayor and I used it everywhere,鈥 he told 麻豆影视.
Turmel hasn鈥檛 let 97 loses stop him, adding that winning 鈥渋s not the point.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 my engineering duty,鈥 he said. Turmel was nicknamed 鈥淭he Engineer鈥 after earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering from Carleton University in the 1970s. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 let the nuts get loose.鈥
For a loser, Turmel proudly hangs the Guinness World Records certificate in his home office, along with newspaper clippings about attempts at running for office.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records website, the Ontario resident holds records for most elections contested 鈥 90 鈥 and lost 鈥 89. He鈥檚 contested eight more elections since that count was taken in late 2016.
鈥淣o one is every going to break this record ever in history,鈥 he said. 鈥淢y name is safe. This is a record for persistence.鈥
The only time he wasn鈥檛 defeated was in 2008, when his bid for a Guelph federal byelection victory or loss was cut short by a general election.
Turmel runs on a platform of legalizing gambling, drugs, sex and prostitution. He thinks the banking system is broken and wants to abolish interest rates, according to his .
Turmel has undoubtedly gained fame for his antics 鈥 from being kicked out of a federal byelection debate to promoting 9/11 conspiracy theories and launching a libel lawsuit against two cast members of the reality TV show 鈥淒ragon鈥檚 Den鈥 鈥 it鈥檚 difficult for the media to ignore his big personality.
鈥淲hat do you expect? After a wild 40-year career of doing the kind of weird stuff I do, getting arrested almost every election, and still doing it, you cannot believe the headlines,鈥 he told 麻豆影视. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been fun.鈥
With files from 麻豆影视鈥 John Vennavally-Rao
