Some of the 14 former New Brunswick NDP candidates said to have defected to the Green party this week actually did not.
On Tuesday, Green party leader David Coon announced 14 candidates who previously ran for the NDP were joining his party.
But the provincial NDP says five of the former candidates were added to the defection list without their consent.
Four of the candidates — Jean-Maurice Landry, Hailey Duffy, Madison Duffy and Betty Weir — released a joint statement Thursday afternoon.
“We are disappointed that our names were added to this letter without our consent,” read the statement.
“We were proud to represent the New Brunswick NDP in the last election as candidates, and continue to be proud to support the NB NDP – both provincially and federally.”
The candidates also said they were shocked by statements that New Brunswickers would have a hard time voting for federal leader Jagmeet Singh because of his ethnicity.
“We don’t believe that to be true,” they said. “We think the people of New Brunswick deserve more credit and know them to be open and loving people.”
The fifth candidate, Francis Duguay, said he also remains faithful in the ranks of the New Brunswick NDP.
“In my opinion, this small group of disgruntled people does not reflect the voice of the NDP,” Duguay said in a statement.
