It’s a very twenty-first-century type of problem. What you do or say online, often stays there and can come back to haunt you.

For Shawn Bubel, who was seeking the PC nomination in the Barrie-Innisfil Riding, social media posts from his past have impacted his future.

On Friday Bubel announced he was dropping out of the Ontario PC nomination race for Barrie-Innisfil after a Toronto Star report revealed sexist and inappropriate social media posts from almost a decade ago.

Political Science Professor Michael Johns says this is the new reality for those seeking public office.
"Politicians in the past didn't have to worry about this. They do now and are going to have to, moving forward."

Johns went on to say, "politics isn't like other jobs. Your job is to appeal to a group of people and if you are unable to do that if for whatever reason, whether it is old Facebook posts or you don't connect with somebody, it can have a real detrimental effect on them.”

"We tend to see what we do online as somehow in a separate sphere of our personal world but they're actually together," says Ethics Professor Alanda Theriault. "If something is uttered 10 years ago online, because it can never be removed, we're held accountable even though we've changed as people, hopefully."

Meanwhile, the former president of the Simcoe North Provincial PC Association Scott Macpherson says he believes Bubel did the right thing in stepping down.

 “I am sad that this has had to happen but I believe he's done the right thing both for himself and for our political party."

According to Macpherson, the recent scandals plaguing the local Tories won’t be enough to lose them the election.

"I believe that this blemish will not tarnish the brand, the conservative brand."

CTV News did reach out to Shawn Bubel, but he said he doesn’t want to comment at this time.