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Fort McMurray-Conklin Alberta Party byelection candidate apologizes for racial slur

The Alberta Party's byelection candidate in Fort McMurray-Conklin is apologizing for a racial slur he wrote in a social media post written five years ago

A Facebook comment in which Alberta Party candidate Sid Fayad uses the N-word comes back to haunt him

David Thurton · CBC News ·
Alberta Party Fort McMurray-Conklin byelection candidate Sid Fayad has issued a joint statement with party leader Stephen Mandell, apologizing for using a racial slur in 2013. (Facebook/ Alberta Party)

An Alberta Party byelection candidate is apologizing for using the N-word in a social media post written five years ago.

Sid Fayad, the party's candidate in the Fort McMurray-Conklin byelection, typed the racial slur in the comment section of a Facebook post.

The comment was written in response to one person's Facebook post proclaiming "the n--ger is back."

Fayad responded, "He's the real f--kin n--gger. What can I say hahahah."

A screenshot of Sid Fayad's response to a post from a friend who called himself by the N-word. The Facebook post is from 2013. (Facebook)

The Alberta Party issued a written statement including an apology from Fayad.

"I'm very sorry and I apologize for the remarks that I've made. It was five years ago, and it is not a reflection of my beliefs or how I conduct myself today," Fayad said in the statement.

A second statement was released by the party Sunday evening which suggested Fayad's social media comments were influenced by the music he listened to at the time. 

"In 2013, my friends and I were into rap culture,"  Fayad said in the second statement.  "As some of you might know, it tends to be full of profanity and refers to people with names that are not acceptable, and viewed as offensive." 

Fayad remains the Alberta Party's candidate in the upcoming Fort McMurray-Conklin byelection to be held July 12. 

Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel is standing by his candidate.

"Mr. Fayad has apologized publicly," Mandel said in the same statement. "We accept his apology."

Mandel added that the party only recently became aware of the Facebook comment, but noted "this comment was made a number of years ago and is not a reflection of who he is or what he's about now."

Connect with David Thurton, CBC's Fort McMurray correspondent, on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or email him at david.thurton@cbc.ca 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Thurton

Senior reporter, Parliamentary Correspondent

David Thurton is a senior reporter in CBC's Parliamentary Bureau. He covers daily politics in the nation’s capital and specializes in environment and energy policy. Born in Canada but raised in Trinidad and Tobago, he’s moved around more times than he can count. He’s worked for CBC in several provinces and territories, including Alberta and the Northwest Territories. He can be reached at david.thurton@cbc.ca

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