United Conservative Party leadership candidate Todd Loewen says he has contacted Elections Alberta about fake robocalls being sent to Albertans pretending to be from his campaign.
Loewen said he began receiving reports of Albertans receiving robocalls from his campaign on Monday morning, but neither he nor anyone else on his campaign approved the messages.
He’s now begun the process of trying to determine where the calls came from and he’s contacted Elections Alberta for help, Loewen said.
“We’ve been in contact with Elections Alberta just to explain what the situation was and find and see if we can find out some more,” he told True North on Monday evening.
Loewen described the call as “putting down Danielle Smith” and taking “a couple shots at Jason Kenney,” while having “flowery” things to say about himself.
True North has independently verified the call from two sources.
In voicemails left on Albertans’ phones, a female caller says voters need a plain-talker they can trust “and that man is Todd Loewen.”
The call says Loewen “held the line” when Smith crossed the floor to the PCs and “stood his ground” when Kenney locked down Alberta.
“Kenney broke our trust and so did Danielle, so why should we elect her now when we just got rid of (Kenney),” the caller says.
“Only Todd Loewen has the integrity to lead Alberta.”
The call ends with a pitch to visit Loewen’s campaign website.
In an emailed statement, Elections Alberta told True North it’s unable to comment “about allegations that we may or may not have received or investigations that we may or may not be conducting.”
“This is in accordance with the disclosure provisions in the Election Act and Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act.”
In a statement posted to Twitter, Smith thanked Loewen for highlighting the fake robocalls.
“Todd is a person of great integrity,” Smith wrote.
“I would encourage all campaigns to fully distance themselves from these tactics & groups,” she added.
Smith and Loewen are aligned on many policies. While all other candidates have attacked Smith, the perceived frontrunner, Loewen has not.
In a post to Facebook, Loewen said anyone doing political advertising is required to inform voters which organization they represent and provide contact information.
“Third parties are free to endorse (or criticize) whoever they want, but they only do so on behalf of themselves,” he wrote. “They should not be misrepresenting themselves as operating on behalf of a candidate.”
