WARNING: This story contains graphic language that may be offensive to some readers. Discretion is advised.
WATCH ABOVE: Ala Buzreba has stepped down as the Liberal candidate for Calgary Nose Hill after controversial tweets sent from her Twitter account in the past surfaced online this week. Global’s Erika Tucker has Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s response.
Ala Buzreba has stepped down as the Liberal candidate for Calgary Nose Hill after controversial tweets sent from her Twitter account surfaced online.
In a Facebook post Tuesday night, Buzreba said she “would like to reiterate that I apologize, without reservation, for posting comments that do not accurately reflect my views and who I am.”
“I am confident this decision is the right decision for myself and for the people of Calgary Nose Hill.”
“The discussion shouldn’t be focused on me and my tweets, but rather it should be about what’s best for Canadians. This election is about bringing real change to Ottawa and I firmly believe that Justin Trudeau and the Liberal team are best placed to do just that.”
Earlier Tuesday, Buzreba said tweets sent from her Twitter account telling one person they should have been aborted, and another to kill themselves came from “a much younger person.”
Buzreba tweeted that “young people, myself included, have learned a lot of lessons about social media.”
“Those 2009-2012 tweets reflect a much younger person,” she tweeted once her account was once again made public after a brief private period Tuesday morning.
She later sent another pair of tweets apologizing, saying she apologizes “without reservation for the comments I made a long time ago.”
Both a Buzreba spokesperson and a Liberal Party spokesperson directed Global News to her tweets as her “official response” when asked for an interview.
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said during an appearance in Sault Ste. Marie that he’s “glad to see she has unreservedly apologized.”
WATCH: Justin Trudeau says Buzreba’s decision to step down is lesson in accountability that “Ottawa could learn from”
“When someone makes a mistake it’s important that they own up to it and they apologize,” he said. “Ala has unreservedly apologized for her comments and I think it’s important to point out that she was a teenager and that we all make mistakes.”
WATCH ABOVE: Ala Buzreba, the Liberal candidate for Calgary Nose Hill, apologized for tweets from 2011 that attacked others, even telling one person to “go blow your brains out.” Jenny Sung explains.
Some of the tweets were sent in 2011 when Buzreba would have been 17 and were mostly circulated Tuesday by self-admitted Conservatives.
Sheila Gunn Reid, who described herself as a “staunch conservative” on her Twitter bio, circulated one in which a tweet, seemingly sent by Buzreba, said her new haircut made her “look like a flipping lesbian.”
The others are more violent. One, allegedly sent to @Qorrect, wrote “Go blow your brains out you waste of sperm.”
Another, sent to @israel_shielf, said “your mother should have used that coat hanger.”
Buzreba was competing against cabinet minister Michelle Rempel in the Conservative riding.
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