An NDP candidate in the Kootenays has been ordered to pay $75,000 in damages in a defamation suit.

Gerry Taft, the mayor of Invermere, called an opponent of the deer cull in his town a "convicted felon," and a Cranbrook, B.C. judge ruled that the comments were defamatory.

Under Taft's watch, Invermere was one of the first towns in B.C. to cull urban deer.

Controversy around the cull got so heated a man named Devin Kazakoff destroyed nets used to trap deer in neighbouring Kimberley.

Kazakoff was charged with mischief and given a conditional discharge.

Taft waded into an online argument and called Kazakoff a "convicted felon," which is not true, and was sued.

The trial began the day Taft was to start campaigning and the ruling came Thursday — five days away from the provincial vote.

In his ruling, Justice Weatherhill awarded Kazakoff $75,000 in damages and said Taft's online post "attacked Kazakoff`s credibility."

Taft says he is disappointed by the ordeal and the judgement.

"I offered an early apology concerning this matter. I am disappointed by the judgement and disagree with much of it," Taft said in an emailed statement. "I will be consulting with my lawyer about filling an appeal.

"For now, I am focused on the election campaign and the issues that matter to the people of Columbia River Revelstoke."

Taft's Liberal opponent, Doug Clovechok, was quick to jump on the news.

"The people of Columbia River-Revelstoke deserve an MLA with the highest integrity, someone they can trust," Clovechok said in a statement.

With files from Bob Keating