A look at elected New Democrat Deborah Drever’s rough launch into politics

EDMONTON – Rookie Deborah Drever has had a rocky ride in politics since she was first elected as a New Democrat in Alberta earlier this month.

May 5: Drever, a 26-year-old sociology student at Mount Royal University, wins a seat in Calgary Bow by 263 votes.

May 6: Facebook pictures surface of Drever when she was 19 mugging with a pot-leaf T-shirt; another shows a middle finger in front of a Canadian flag. Drever says she was just being silly with the T-shirt and the hand on the flag was not hers.

May 8: Online petitions ask for Drever to be removed. They say some of her Facebook photos show that she is unfit for office.

May 15: Another photo circulates on social media of Drever pretending to be assaulted with a bottle for a garage band cover photo.

May 20: Incoming premier Rachel Notley says she has met with Drever and told her the images were “highly inappropriate.” Notley says she has accepted Drever’s apology and tasked her with developing a plan to heighten awareness of violence against women.

May 21: Drever tells The Canadian Press she is sorry for the band photo taken three years ago and that it was a youthful mistake that she regrets.

May 22: A photo posted on Drever’s Instagram account circulates on Twitter. It shows Tory Premier Jim Prentice and a cabinet minister with doodled speech bubbles added to their pictures that suggest the two men are gay. Notley suspends Drever from caucus but says she may review her status within a year. Drever is to sit as an Independent.