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This article was published 2/6/2016 (1570 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The wife of a former NDP cabinet minister has obtained a protection order against him following allegations of verbal abuse, threats and stalking.

Drew Caldwell had been the MLA for Brandon East since 1999, and was most recently the municipal government minister before losing his seat to Progressive Conservative candidate Len Isleifson in the April 19 provincial election.

In her protection order application, Caldwell's wife alleges that defeat "left (him) completely at sea."

Testimony under oath from Caldwell's wife alleges a pattern of him verbally threatening her, pushing her into doors so he could say "it was an accident" and frequently showing up at places where he knew she would be.

"He is smart person; it has been done in such a way he can explain it away," she told a Winnipeg Court of Queen's Bench justice late last month.

The judge granted the protection order in late May. It bans Caldwell from being within 200 metres of his wife's property or place of work.

When asked if she had ever called the police on him, she said, "He is a public figure so there was added pressure not to do anything about it."

Caldwell has not been charged with an offence and can apply to the Court of Queen’s Bench to have the order cancelled. A protection order is a court order, granted on an urgent basis, forbidding the respondent from having contact with the applicant.

Efforts to reach Caldwell by social media and phone were unsuccessful.

The law firm representing Caldwell, Meighen Haddad, said in an email the former MLA and his wife "are engaged in an unfortunate family matter."

"It is our intent to respect the integrity of the process underway and the dignity of the couple in question. There will be no further public comment on this matter."

The Free Press has chosen not to name Caldwell's wife.

The pair has been in the process of separating since July 2015. They married in 2008.

She had continued to live at their shared residence, according to court documents.

She described Caldwell as someone with a need to control everything, and who has broken a door and windows when he is angry.

Losing the election had "been very difficult" for Caldwell, his wife said in the testimony, and he became "more volatile and erratic." This includes a drive with Caldwell on May 20 during which she alleged he drove "recklessly" and wouldn't let her get out of the car "in order to scare me," she said, adding he later followed her into their home and blocked the front door.

kristin.annable@freepress.mb.ca