Former Midfield Mobile Home Park resident Calan Lovstrom said Alberta NDP leadership candidates Naheed Nenshi and Sarah Hoffman lied about meeting with him at the Calgary park. Lovstrom called Nenshi’s remarks “a straight-up lie.” “During that NDP debate, he says he sat down in our homes,” said Lovstrom in an interview on Canadian conservative podcast Unacceptable Fringe. “No, that’s a complete lie.” .The City of Calgary said in 2014 it would be shutting down the Midfield Mobile Home Park because the water and sewer lines were too old and too expensive to change.City of Calgary officials provided residents $10,000 to cover moving their mobile homes and another $10,000 lump sum payment.Many residents agreed to taking the payments and did not complain, but others fought it to try and stay.Hoffman had said at the Vote Leadership 2024 Debate in Calgary that housing is one of the largest crises in the city. “And there were 170 affordable housing homes in Midfield Park,” said Hoffman. “And I need to know from you, Naheed, why you closed that park, why you evicted those folks.” While the people were removed from their homes, she said she talked with them. One of the people who she said she spoke with was Lovstrom, who had to move in with his in-laws and leave Calgary. Nenshi, who was Calgary mayor at the time residents were cleared out, said it was a hard decision. “You were the minister of health,” he said. “I sat in their living room, Sarah.” At the time, Lovstrom said he and his wife were on the left of the political spectrum. When he reached out to the Alberta NDP, he said its staff “were very much on our side and that’s fantastic.” He accused the NDP of ghosting them and not hearing back from them after it formed government. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had a Calgary radio show at the time of the evictions. Lovstrom said Smith came to the Midfield Mobile Home Park multiple times and interviewed he, his wife, and other residents. Despite wanting to stay, they had to move out. “She spent the entire month talking solely about the Midfield situation,” said Lovstrom. Nenshi campaign spokesperson Daorcey Le Bray said the candidate was sticking by the statements he made during the debate. “This particular issue was well-documented by Calgary media,” said Le Bray. Smith responded by saying she spent time meeting with Midfield Mobile Home Park residents and listening to their stories. “It was heartbreaking to hear how they were treated by various actors,” she said. “These people faced terrible injustice while being forced out of their homes.”Since people were removed from their homes, she said it was a sad outcome that could have been prevented with more effective leadership. Hoffman could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
