UCP disqualifies candidate who equated vaccine rules to Nazi regime

The United Conservative Party (UCP) board has disqualified a potential candidate who had advocated for debunked COVID-19 treatments like ivermectin and compared vaccine passports to policies enacted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime.

The UCP disqualified Nadine Wellwood, a possible candidate in the riding of Livingstone-Macleod in southern Alberta, earlier this week. She appealed the decision, writing that the party had told her it had concerns with her previous social media posts.

"I believe that the party elite have overreached their authority and this action itself threatens the integrity of the UCP," she wrote in a statement posted Monday.

On Thursday, Wellwood lost her final appeal with the board. The UCP's director of communications confirmed Saturday the appeal had been dismissed, but declined to provide further comment.

Wellwood, who previously ran in the federal election as a People's Party of Canada candidate, did not respond to a request for comment.

David Parker, who founded the anti-establishment group Take Back Alberta in late December 2021, said he thought the board made the right decision, and said the group does not support her. He said a number of members of Take Back Alberta voted against Wellwood.

"I think a lot of the views she's espoused would be very detrimental to our re-election hopes," he said, specifically citing her previous comments on Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

In March 2021, Wellwood speculated on social media that Putin could be fighting a "globalist agenda" after Russia invaded Ukraine.

"Regardless of how we feel about our own governments, we can't begin praising tin pot dictators," Parker said.

Late last month, Take Back Alberta channeled its grassroots support to elect party board candidates sympathetic to their views, which are closely tied to similar sentiments championed by those who blockaded the border at Coutts, Alta., earlier this year.

They took nine out of nine candidates, meaning half of the board is now comprised of those supported by the organization. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has a vote on the board.

Wellwood and Smith had posed for a photo together at Take Back Alberta hospitality suite at the UCP convention in October. 

Wellwood had also voiced her strong support for the new premier shortly after the celebration had concluded, posting a video wherein she wrote she "could not be happier with the outcome."

In a statement released earlier this week, Wellwood said she made "no apologies for having strong opinions" but would try to offer "more context when commenting or sharing information in future."