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“We’re not going to allow people to paint us with the brush they would like,” said Ammar, suggesting the party’s political opponents have been trying to connect the UCP to controversies of the past.

“It’s a fresh start.”

Ammar, a former member of Wildrose’s executive committee, said he hoped the resolution means Calgary Pride will reconsider its decision to keep the UCP from the parade.

“I don’t know what provoked their decision. I hope it’s not driven by politics because the last thing they need to do is exclude a party that represents close to 60 per cent of Alberta when they’re looking for inclusion,” he said, referring to polls showing strong support for the UCP.

“We’ll be more than happy to support them and work with them.”

Calgary Pride declined to comment Thursday. Ammar said the party has not contacted Pride directly.

The new UCP could potentially carry some baggage on LGBTQ issues from the past.

In the 2012 election, a Wildrose candidate’s blog post saying that gays would be condemned to the “lake of fire” helped derail the party’s campaign and the party later had internal disputes around LGBTQ rights. This past summer, a Wildrose staffer came under attack from some party members on social media after he said he would attend Pride events in Edmonton.

The PCs faced a backlash in government over their handling of gay-straight alliances before passing legislation acceptable to all sides in early 2015.

However, the issue of parental notification around GSAs has arisen in the UCP leadership race, with UCP leadership candidate Jason Kenney drawing heat for saying that parents, in some circumstances, should be told if their children attend a gay-straight alliance.

UCP leadership candidates Brian Jean, Doug Schweitzer and Jeff Callaway had wanted to march in the Calgary Pride parade while Kenney’s campaign said he had not planned to attend because he was not invited.

After picking a new leader in October, the UCP will hold its first policy convention in January.

Ammar said he expected the party will adopt policies around LGBTQ issues that “reflect the views of the majority of Albertans.”

jwood@postmedia.com