Alberta UCP candidate Kaycee Madu has spoken out against the racially charged comment of his NDP opponent, John Archer.
In a tweet, the NDP candidate told voters to “Vote as if: your skin is not white.”
Madu, a lawyer who is originally from Nigeria called the comments “derogatory” and “designed solely to divide and offend”.
“After four years of disastrous NDP policies, Albertans are voting in this election based on ideas for a better future, not skin colour,” said Madu.
This isn’t the first instance where Madu has called out his NDP opponents for bringing racial identity into the provincial election.
In one tweet, the Edmonton-South West candidate spoke out against a comment made by Alberta’s NDP Minister of Environment in which she claimed “white supremacists make great campaigners, and racists make good candidates.”
“I am running for the United Conservatives because I am proud of our open, welcoming, and diverse party, where people are judged not by the colour of their skin, religion or ethnicity, but on how hard they work,” said Madu.
According to UCP party leader Jason Kenney, Madu has been the target of NDP attacks in the past.
During the CBC Leaders Debate, Kenney pointed out to Alberta Premier Rachel Notley how an NDP supporter attacked the Nigerian candidate “for supposedly supporting white supremacism”.
“This is getting ridiculous, it’s offensive. As the federal immigration minister, I welcomed more newcomers to Canada than any immigration minister in Canadian history. I reached out to the full diversity of our ethno and cultural communities,” said Kenney.
Before apologizing for his own comments, Archer called on Madu to apologize for posing in a photograph with a “StopNotley.com” sign while door-knocking in a March 31st Twitter post.
Despite the NDP’s claims that the UCP are an unwelcoming and hateful party, the candidates page says otherwise. Approximately 22 of their fielded candidates are visible ethnic minorities from a diverse range of cultures and beliefs.
