The Alberta Party’s Fort McMurray-Conklin byelection candidate Sid Fayad has apologized for using a racial slur on Facebook in 2013.

In a Sunday evening statement sent to media, Fayad admitted he typed the word into the comment section of a Facebook post made five years ago.

Fayad was responding to one person’s post which said “the real f—in n–ger is back!” Fayad responded with “He’s the real f—in n–ger.”

On Sunday, Fayad said the person he was responding to referred to himself with the word at the time. He also said his friends were influenced by “rap culture,” which is “full of profanity and refer to people with names that are not acceptable and viewed as offensive.”

Fayad said he had forgotten about the comment until he learned that the link had been sent to media outlets and a story was being written about it.

“I am extremely sorry and I apologize for the remarks that I’ve made,” he said. “It was five years ago and it is not a reflection of my beliefs or how I conduct myself today. I think the people of Fort McMurray deserve the truth.”

Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel says he has accepted Fayad’s apology and that he remains the Fort McMurray-Conklin byelection candidate.

“Although we don’t condone these actions, we accept his apology,” said Mandel. “The party became aware this weekend this comment was made a number of years ago, and it is not a reflection of who he is or what he’s about now.”

The Fort McMurray-Conklin byelection is scheduled for July 12. Polling locations can be found at Elections Alberta’s website.

The riding of Fort McMurray-Conklin includes all rural hamlets, as well as the neighbourhoods of Abasand, Beacon Hill, Draper, Grayling Terrace, all of Thickwood south of Thickwood Boulevard, Saprae Creek, Waterways and Wood Buffalo.

Our election coverage, with links to candidate interviews and our debate, can be found here.

vmcdermott@postmedia.com