FREDERICTON — A New Brunswick MLA has filed a complaint with the provincial elections commission over the activities of an anti-Liberal online group with ties to similar organizations across the country.
Robert McKee said today he asked Elections NB to investigate the operations during the 2018 provincial elections of New Brunswick Proud, a registered third party.
New Brunswick Proud has ties to other anti-Liberal and right-leaning online political action groups with similar names such as Ontario Proud, Quebec Proud and Canada Proud.
McKee’s complaint asks the elections commission to investigate the group on a number of grounds, including for allegedly misidentifying themselves in election advertising and potentially colluding with the provincial Progressive Conservative party.
The Liberal member for Moncton Centre pointed to New Brunswick Proud’s election expense filings, which state the group’s entire $12,000 budget came from two organizations based in Alberta: the Manning Foundation and the pro-oil industry Modern Miracle Network.
Representatives from New Brunswick Proud and the provincial Progressive Conservative party were not immediately available for comment.
Elections NB spokesman Paul Harpell confirmed chief electoral officer Kimberly Poffenroth received the complaint and will analyze New Brunswick Proud’s financial returns against McKee’s claims.
The Canadian Press
The Canadian Press
