Petition calls for resignation of former Liberal who was booted from party over sexual assault allegations

A petition demanding the removal of recently elected MP has garnered attention and over 1,300 signatures.

The petition calls for the resignation of Kevin Vuong, who won the Toronto riding of Spadina Fort-York in the federal election earlier this week.

Vuong, who ran as a Liberal but was removed after allegations of sexual misconduct, won his seat, despite being charged with sexual assault in 2019.

Those charges, however, were later withdrawn, though Vuong remains under investigation.

Spadina-Fort York was last held by former Liberal MP Adam Vaughan, who handily won the riding with 55 percent of the vote in 2019 but announced last month that he would not be seeking re-election.

Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca, who previously campaigned for Vuong, said the former Liberal should "examine his conscience" and step aside.

"I don't think Kevin can responsibly serve in the capacity as an MP for that community, given the circumstances of the allegation, so I do hope that he does the right thing," said Del Duca.

Vuong has not spoken publicly since the election results came in, but he will need to sit as an independent if he decides to take the job in Ottawa.

The woman implicated in the alleged sexual assault previously confirmed with Global News she had been on several dates with Vuong after matching on a dating app in February. She claimed the alleged assault happened on April 8, when he came over to her residence to watch a movie.

Shortly after falling asleep, the woman said she woke up to what felt like "somebody touching me, and I felt something tickling my neck."

"I kept my eyes closed from the moment I woke up just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, and I wanted to be sure what was going on," she said.

"When it happened, I was taken back because I think it was one thing. If I was awake and he tried to make advancements, I would have shut it down. We wouldn't even be here. But the fact of the matter is that I was asleep, I was unconscious, and I couldn't consent to something," she added.

The petition, started by Toronto99's Mark Slapinski, asks Vuong to step down as MP for Spadina Fort-York, saying that "having Vuong in office will further erode society's trust in elected officials."