Alberta NDP revokes candidacy of Marilyn North Peigan in Calgary-Klein

An NDP advanced technician makes last-minute adjustments before the doors open at the election headquarters in Edmonton on May 5, 2015. (Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The Alberta New Democratic Party has cut ties with its candidate in the riding of Calgary-Klein over a series of tweets.

The party, which will be looking to dethrone Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party next year, said through a statement issued Thursday that Marilyn North Peigan’s comments on the social media platform “came after a continued pattern of behaviour that undermines this candidate’s ability to work with, or stand on behalf of, the Alberta NDP and its members.”

North Peigan was announced by the Alberta NDP as its candidate for Calgary-Klein this past March, and had been campaigning for a win over UCP candidate and cabinet minister Jeremy Nixon.

The Twitter comments that caused North Peigan to fall out of favour with the party, which have since been deleted, took aim at Dan McLean, a current Calgary city councillor, and Jonathan Denis, a former Alberta justice minister, over racist videos in which they have been linked.

In her tweets, North Peigan spoke ill of both men, the family of one and of the Calgary Stampede board as a whole.

Brandon Stevens, provincial secretary for the Alberta NDP, spoke on behalf of the party in its statement about the revocation of North Peigan’s candidacy.

“The behaviour demonstrated in certain videos by the Calgary Ward 13 councillor is racist and therefore unacceptable. We hope he will be held accountable in a substantive manner,” Stevens said.

“Notwithstanding this, the statements made on Twitter by a candidate for the NDP regarding the councillor’s family and the Stampede are not appropriate and do not reflect the views of the Alberta NDP.”

Stevens said the party will not provide further comment on the situation, as it is an internal matter.

Late Thursday afternoon, North Peigan took to Twitter again to address her comments, as well as apologize for them.

“On Tuesday evening I posted a number of tweets that were untrue, disrespectful, and hurtful. These messages were posted by me to my personal account. No one on my campaign team was involved, and I take full responsibility for the offending posts,” she said.

“I apologize unreservedly to the people and organizations who found themselves caught up in my posts. You did not deserve to receive these messages, which came from a place of deep pain and trauma resulting from my lived experience of racism, particularly having been repeatedly exposed to the grotesque racist spectacle of Brocket 99.”

North Peigan apologized to several people and groups specifically.

“I apologize to the Alberta NDP and my Calgary-Klein campaign team for letting them down and distracting from the many positive messages we had to share,” she said.

“To the staff and members of the Calgary Police Commission, and the members of the Calgary Police Service, I apologize for making comments that have drawn negative attention to these respectable organizations.

“Finally, to Calgary Ward 13 City Councillor Dan McLean, I apologize for not engaging with these videos of you in a way that could have allowed us to move toward reconciliation. I denied you the opportunity to understand the trauma and pain caused by racist recordings like Brocket 99, and videos inspired by it. Instead, I lashed out at you from a place of anger, intending to cause pain, and for that I am sorry.”

North Peigan went on to say she chose to delete her comments after talking time to reflect, again noting they came from a place of pain.

“I do not want these occasional feelings to define my identity, and I regret having let these feelings overtake my better judgement,” she said.

North Peigan also said that, while disappointed by the Alberta NDP’s decision, she accepts it, and does not want the upcoming provincial election to be impacted by it.