The Court of King’s Bench of Alberta has ruled the provincial NDP does not have legal capacity for the defamation lawsuit brought against it by former United Conservative Party candidate Caylan Ford (Calgary-Mountain View). Ford has filed a $7.65 million defamation lawsuit against the NDP, her former friend Karim Jivraj, and certain journalists and news outlets for smearing her as a white supremacist during the 2019 Alberta election.“For years, the Alberta NDP has escaped legal accountably,” tweeted Ford on Thursday.“That seems to be coming to an end.” .The Alberta UCP saw Ford as a star candidate in the 2019 election, as she was recruited by former premier Jason Kenney to run in Calgary-Mountain View. READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: How a Conservative candidate worked with the NDP to bring down star UCP candidateJivraj destroyed her candidacy by planting false stories about her in Press Progress. Edited parts of private philosophical conversations involving her were given to Press Progress, with the NDP saying she was a white supremacist. She ended up resigning her candidacy to avoid becoming a distraction to the UCP’s campaign. Ford said the Alberta NDP does not exist. Its registration as a political party was based on an invalid 1977 trust deed. The trustee does not exist. Therefore, she did not have anyone to sue. For the entire time the NDP governed Alberta, it was operating with no legal standing. It could commit fraud, defamation or breach contracts and the victims would have no legal recourse. Its constitution identifies it as a section of the federal NDP. Her lawsuit named the federal NDP. It responded by saying it was not liable for provincial sections. It sought a summary dismissal and $40,000 in costs against her. At one point, the Alberta NDP agreed to name and indemnify a person as a litigation representative to stand on its behalf. When entities have no legal standing to sue or be sued, she said it is “pretty hard to find someone who will accept your promise of indemnification.” Ford concluded by saying she will receive $40,000 she had to put in trust back, the federal NDP’s application for summary dismissal has been refused, and the Alberta NDP has 30 days to get its house in order. “And after 3.5 years of delay, the defamation case against the NDP can finally move forward,” she said. Ford was granted a restraining order towards Jivraj in 2023. READ MORE: Caylan Ford wins restraining order against Karim Jivraj“Ultimately, I am satisfied on the evidence that Mr. Jivraj embarked on a campaign to cause emotional and financial harm to Ms. Ford by damaging her reputation,” said Court of King’s Bench of Alberta Justice Robert A. Graesser. Ford said Jivraj defamed and harassed her since 2019. This caused her severe emotional anxiety and financial loss.The Alberta NDP could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
