A former Queen’s faculty member is in the race to be Kitchener South-Hespeler’s Member of Parliament (MP).
Dr. Matthew Strauss, a former Assistant Professor of Medicine from July 2019 to November 2021, has hopes of being his riding’s MP. In 2022, Strauss filed a $600,000 a lawsuit against the University and Dr. Stephen Archer, head of the Department of Medicine until 2023, over alleged defamatory language used about him following social media posts, and articles where he spoke out against COVID-19 restrictions.
READ MORE: Former Queen’s professor sues for defamation
Strauss, who served as the acting Medical Officer for Southern Ontario during the pandemic from 2021 to 2023, became widely criticized for his opposition to vaccine and mask mandates. In 2022, he published an Opinion Piece in the National Post about his reasons for being “done with masks.”
The same year, the CBC reported Strauss saying on social media “he’d sooner give his children COVID-19 over a Happy Meal.”
In a 2023 statement of defence, the University and Archer denied any defamation, stating that Strauss’s resignation was strategically timed to maximize financial gain and disruption. The statement also claimed that his opposition to public health measures extended beyond social media and was evident in the workplace—alleging he attempted to bypass COVID-19 screening protocols at the Kingston Health Sciences Centre.
The matter has not yet been decided by a court.
With the federal election underway, Strauss’s name is surfacing online once again. One Bluesky user posted, “In 2023 Strauss sued Queens University, claiming he was canceled for his views on vaccine mandates and masking. His lawsuit was funded by none other than Elon Musk,” the post says.
The user claims Strauss leveraged his fame at the time to secure the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) nomination in the fall of 2023 for his home riding of Kitchener South-Hespeler.
In May 2024, XNews posted saying they’re “proud to fund a lawsuit filed by Dr. Matthew Strauss, an Ontario critical care physician and professor, against his former employer, Queen’s University.” Strauss confirmed this on X, directly thanking both Musk and the CPC in the same post.
Some residents in the South-Hespeler’s region have expressed discomfort with Strauss’s candidacy. One user said they feel “embarrassed to be in his riding and seeing his signs in my neighbourhood.”
Another user, criticized Strauss’s focus on politics, saying “He needs to stick to something other than politics. Almost anything else that doesn’t affect millions. I remember his comments on X when vaccines were being rolled out. Sickening, is what he is.”
The Journal reached out to Strauss for a comment but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.
Tags
Conservative MP, Elections 2025, lawsuit, Matt Strauss
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Mark Koppel
This is another example of the Conservative party cozying up to MAGA individuals like Elon Musk. More reason not to vote for the Federal Conservative Party.
Calvin
I remember he had common sense when it was a rare commodity. Sounds like an excellent candidate, wish I was from the area so I couldcould vote for him