Take Back Alberta Leader Blames ‘Woke Mob’ After Getting Kicked Off Elite Foundation’s Board

Take Back Alberta leader David Parker claims he was “cancelled” by “woke mobs” after he was fired from the Canadian Ditchley Foundation, an elite conservative organization that promotes British foreign policy interests around the world.

Over the weekend, Parker tweeted out a screenshot from Ditchley President Pierre Lortie email showing he had been removed as a board member of the foundation following an event with a far-right speaker and incendiary tweets targeting Alberta Health Services.

In other news, the woke mob has succeeded in intimidating the Ditchley board to have me removed. So, I guess you guys are good at something! pic.twitter.com/gYtdxnRQZA

— David Parker (@DavidJPba) October 14, 2023

The Canadian Ditchley Foundation is an offshoot of the British Ditchley Foundation, an organization established in the 1950s to promote British-American relations. Ditchley Canada’s board of directors and advisory committee currently includes a number of Canadian senators, former government officials, business leaders and other prominent figures from academia and right-leaning think tanks.

In an interview with PressProgress, Parker said he believes the Ditchley Foundation caved to “woke mobs” consisting of a “hate army” of “random nobodies” and believes the elite international organization has become “very left-wing.”

“Me being moved on from Ditchley was simply because – and I was speaking to their chief of staff this morning – they were receiving a lot of complaints,” Parker told PressProgress.

“I think the James Lindsay event was a catalyst for a battle,” Parker added. “They were sending letters to Ditchley and saying ‘how can you have someone involved with you like this’.”

Earlier this month, Take Back Alberta hosted events with a controversial far-right American culture war figure named Dr. James Lindsay who regularly spreads “groomer” rhetoric against the LGBTQ2SA+ community and promotes conspiracy theories about a communist world takeover.

Take Back Alberta (Telegram)

“It’s the same thing with the Lindsay event,” Parker explained. “It’s these pathetic attempts to cancel me.”

“In the case of Ditchley they’re not really interested in controversy,” the Take Back Alberta leader conceded. “I think they didn’t want someone as right-wing involved in their organization. My guess is they said ‘we don’t need this trouble’.”

Parker could be described as embattled. The founder of the far-right group, who takes credit for bringing Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to power and bringing down former Premier Jason Kenney, now says he’s under attack from both the “woke” left and the conservative elites..

“They were trying to cancel me and that’s the goal, people who believe in this ideology that’s permeated many of our institutions. It comes from things like critical race theory, and also what I call the Green Guard, the climate cultists,” Parker told PressProgress.

“These are people who have lost their minds and they want a boogeyman.”

Parker says Ditchley has also drawn suspicion on his right flank as well.

“On the Ditchley front I’ve been attacked a lot on the right for being involved with this globalist organization,” before adding that he needed to “reiterate that I think they do amazing work.”

“They’re connected to everybody. Look at the people who come to their conferences. It’s like a who’s who of the world.”

Last week, Parker caused headaches for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith after a particularly incendiary post directed at the leadership of Alberta Health Services Friday.

“We are coming for you,” Parker tweeted. “We will not rest until your evil communist ideology is eradicated from the face of this province.”

Smith later disavowed Parker and denied that Take Back Alberta had any influence over her government during her radio show Saturday. Parker still calls Smith “a friend on a personal level.”

Parker later deleted his tweet.

I am deeply concerned by these threats made by David Parker of Take Back Alberta towards Albertans who work to keep our hospitals open & our ambulances on the road. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/l60d9UaNnd

— David Shepherd (@DShepYEG) October 13, 2023

Nevertheless, Take Back Alberta is once again organizing to show up in numbers to vote in the party’s November AGM. Last year the group took control over half the party board.

“We ran a slate in the last one, and we won every single one,” Parker said.

Last year Parker attended a Ditchley sponsored event in London that featured a presentation by billionaire venture capitalist and right wing power player Peter Thiel. Parker says he did not meet Thiel personally but knows his chief of staff “quite well.”

The Ditchley Foundation holds conferences related to promoting British-American relations. The UK-based parent organization has ties to the national security and intelligence communities, including former MI6 Chief Sir John Sawyers and CIA Director William J. Burns.

Despite getting kicked off the Ditchley Foundation’s board, Parker says he believes the “woke mob” is only making him stronger.

“They want a boogeyman, which is great for me on a personal level,” Parker told PressProgress. “They’re making me way bigger than I am.”

“When they say these things about me, it only increases my power and influence.”