“Old-Fashioned Pie Auction” creates problems for Wildrose

It may have just been a poor choice of words, but a poster for an “old-fashioned” pie auction is creating a lot of negative buzz for the Wildrose Party.

The poster reads “this area is too big and too busy for traditional “door knocking”. Take a break from calving, farming, spring work and NHL Playoffs to join your neighbors from near and far. Wildrose didn’t call this Election on May 5th but they are up for the fight. See ya there.”

It then goes on to use the acronym BYWP or “Bring Your Wife’s Pie”.

The poster has drawn criticism from many over social media, wondering about those four words.

 

The immediate backlash led to an apology from Strankman over Twitter. “I apologize for our poster. It was posted by our volunteers through my account. As soon as I saw it, I asked them to take it down,” Strankman wrote.

 

Leader Brian Jean was asked about the fundraiser while at a campaign stop in Calgary.

“I talked to Rick recently and we’ve had some conversations,” he said. “I understand Rick has removed that particular mention and we’ll leave it at that.”

NDP Leader Rachel Notley, a few blocks from Jean’s announcement, was not mincing words.

“I think Mr. Strankman has some perhaps out of date assumptions as to who does the cooking where,” she said. “I would say it’s clear he has a sweet tooth, but he needs a wisdom tooth.”

There’s no word yet on if the fundraiser will go ahead as scheduled.