• Elections Alberta has ruled that the NDP broke the law in order to artificially inflate their membership prior to the election of incumbent leader Naheed Nenshi.

• The NDP have been forced into a binding agreement with the Elections Commissioner to abide by the law and quit misrepresenting their membership and fundraising numbers.

Elections Alberta has determined that the NDP unlawfully manipulated their membership numbers ahead of the election of incumbent leader Naheed Nenshi.

The decision comes after the United Conservative Party lodged a complaint with Elections Alberta in February, accusing the NDP of illegally equating contributions with party membership fees, and vice versa.

The Executive Director of the UCP didn’t hold back in a statement accusing the former governing party of involuntarily signing up Albertans to join their ranks.

“The NDP misled donors and involuntarily signed them up as members. They have been inflating both their membership and donation numbers, making it impossible to trust any of their claims about actual figures,” Van Vugt said.

It’s unclear if the illegal activity was due to negligence, incompetence, or an attempt to hide their low membership.

Before the ruling, the NDP brushed off the accusation, calling the complaint “clearly spurious.” The UCP also alleged the NDP constitution violated election rules by claiming that donations over $10 to the party counts as membership renewal.

However, Election commissioner Paula Hale said on Thursday that the NDP was “not in compliance,” adding, “specifically, in circumstances where memberships were being renewed as the result of an individual making a contribution in a subsequent year.”