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The party shut down the site Thursday afternoon following questioning by the Herald.

“I have directed an immediate end to this fundraising appeal and the removal of information on the Internet supporting it,” McLean said. “And I have directed that there be no repetition of fundraising appeals that refer to publicly-funded events in this way.

“We sincerely apologize to Albertans for this mistake.”

Liberal Leader David Swann said he wanted more information from the NDP about how the donation idea came about initially. He said opposition parties will “be watching very closely” to hold the new government accountable for any further ethical lapses.

“We elected these folks to clean up this kind of stuff,” Swann said. “They have failed Albertans in the first week.”

Cheryl Oates, spokeswoman for Notley, said the donation idea came solely from the party.

“It wasn’t the premier’s office that gave this direction,” she said.

Oates said Notley was not aware when she tweeted the link that the process would take the public to the NDP’s fundraising page.

“It was never supposed to end up on a fundraising page. The fundraising page was a mistake and has been corrected,” she added.

Lori Williams, associate professor of policy studies for Mount Royal University, said the gaffe was uncharacteristic for Notley’s NDP, which was roundly praised for running a near-flawless campaign during the election.