Deborah Drever

Deborah Drever (born August 15, 1988) is a Canadian who was a politician elected in the 2015 general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the electoral district of Calgary-Bow.[1] A sociology student at Mount Royal University in Calgary, she defeated Progressive Conservative challenger Byron Nelson in the May 5, 2015, election in a riding that had historically elected Conservative candidates.[1][2][3]

Deborah Drever
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Bow
In office
May 5, 2015  April 16, 2019
Preceded byAlana DeLong
Succeeded byDemetrios Nicolaides
Personal details
Born (1988-08-15) August 15, 1988
Calgary, Alberta
Political partyAlberta New Democratic Party (2015, 2016)
Other political
affiliations
Independent (2015)
ResidenceCalgary, Alberta
Alma materMount Royal University
Occupationstudent, politician

She was elected as a member of the Alberta New Democratic Party, but was sworn in as an independent MLA after being barred from the caucus because of a controversy about her social media activities prior to her candidacy. In 2016, she was readmitted to the NDP caucus.[4]

Deborah Drever ran for re-election in the 2019 Alberta general election, but was defeated by Demetrios Nicolaides of the United Conservative Party, as the UCP gained back all but a handful of seats they had lost in the Calgary area in 2015.

Political career

Social Media Controversy

Immediately after the 2015 election, Drever was criticized on social media after pictures from her Facebook page were circulated that showed somebody giving the finger to the Canadian flag and Drever posing with a "Magic Weed" (marijuana) tee-shirt.[5][6] The pictures were later removed from her Facebook account.[5] On May 15, 2015, Drever again attracted controversy when it was discovered that she posed in an assault scene for a music album cover. The image raised concerns among some observers who saw it as promoting sexual violence against women.[7] Petitions were started[8] and a protest was organized,[9] asking Drever to resign.

On May 20, 2015, Premier-designate Rachel Notley announced that she had directed Drever, as a result of the media attention, to create a plan to improve education on violence against women, particularly outreach to groups working with vulnerable young women.[10] Two days later, the NDP announced that Drever had been suspended from caucus after a homophobic remark was found posted from Drever's Instagram account. Notley said that she would review Drever's status within a year.[11]

Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence

Drever wrote a private member's bill designed to protect victims of domestic violence by allowing them to break leases and move out of their rental accommodations early. Her bill was unanimously approved by the legislature in the fall of 2015 and won her accolades from both sides of the legislative assembly. In January 2016, after Premier Notley decided that Drever had exceeded the criteria given to her in order to be readmitted into the government caucus, she was allowed to rejoin the NDP caucus.[4]

Electoral history

2015 general election

2015 Alberta general election: Calgary-Bow
Party Candidate Votes%
New DemocraticDeborah Drever5,66934.5
Progressive ConservativeByron Nelson5,41933.0
WildroseTrevor Grover3,75222.8
LiberalMatt Gaiser6824.2
Alberta PartyJonathon Himann4592.8
GreenDavid Reid4482.7
Total valid votes 16,429100.0
Rejected, spoiled and declined 122
Turnout 16,55151.7
Eligible voters 31,990
Source: Elections Alberta[12]
2019 Alberta general election: Calgary-Bow
Party Candidate Votes%±%
United ConservativeDemetrios Nicolaides13,98755.9%+0.1%
New DemocraticDeborah Drever8,54834.2%-0.3%
Alberta PartyPaul Godard1,7747.1%+4.3%
LiberalDaniel Ejumabone3201.3%-2.9%
GreenMarion Westoll2330.9%-1.8%
Freedom ConservativeRegina Shakirova1610.6%New
Total valid votes 25,023
Rejected, spoiled and declined 149
Eligible voters 38,041
Turnout 25,17266.0% +14.3
United Conservative gain from New Democratic Swing +0.2
Source(s)
"2019 Provincial General Election Results". Elections Alberta. Retrieved April 30, 2019.

References

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