---
title: "NDP candidate Amna Shah says Doerkson used different standards for two discrimination cases"
description: "Shah, the BC NDP candidate for Surrey City Centre, says Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson quickly removed a candidate over racist posts but has not acted after his campaign director's anti-Islam posts came to light."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/amna-shah-ndp-double-standard-doerkson-merrifield-2026"
last_updated: "2026-10-12T03:37:44.114Z"
---

Amna Shah, the BC NDP candidate for Surrey City Centre, issued a statement on October 11 saying Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson handled two discrimination cases inside his party by different standards. Indo-Canadian Voice reported the statement Sunday afternoon.

Shah said that when candidate Joachim Agou posted racist content on social media, Doerkson removed him from the party quickly and said "There is no excuse for this. I will not tolerate it." But after BC Conservative campaign director Katy Merrifield's anti-Islam social media posts came to light, Doerkson was "silent for more than 48 hours," Shah said in her statement.

## What the posts said

The National Council of Canadian Muslims had issued a statement on Saturday, October 10, characterizing Merrifield's posts as showing "a pattern of Islamophobic views," according to the Indo-Canadian Voice article.

The article lists specific posts attributed to Merrifield. On June 17, 2026, Merrifield posted: "f*ck Islam. Defend Western civilization... expel this abhorrent ideology and everyone who defends it." On June 19, 2026, she shared a post saying "Islam is a literal rape culture." On September 11, 2026, she shared content blaming Islam as a whole for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

## Shah's claim about the contrast

Shah said the difference in Doerkson's response to the two cases was deliberate. "It was easy to remove his candidate in a seat where the Conservatives never win, but now he is unwilling or unable to remove his top advisor," Shah said in her statement.

Shah said she is "deeply disappointed" that her Conservative opponent for Surrey City Centre, [Zeeshan Wahla](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/zeeshan-wahla), chose to defend Merrifield rather than call for her removal.

"If Lorne Doerkson is unwilling or unable to act decisively on hate against one group of British Columbians, then he can't be counted to defend any community," Shah said.

The Indo-Canadian Voice article does not include a response from Doerkson, Merrifield, or Wahla.

[Amna Shah](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/amna-shah) and [Zeeshan Wahla](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/zeeshan-wahla) are running for Surrey City Centre on October 24. Advance voting runs October 16 to 21 at locations listed on the Elections BC website. Voters can review both candidates' information at [/bc/provincial-2026/news](/bc/provincial-2026/news).

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