Donald Brian MacIntyre (born 1955) is a former Canadian politician and criminal from Alberta. He was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, where he represented the electoral district of Innisfail-Sylvan Lake.[1] MacIntyre resigned on February 5, 2018 after being charged with sexual assault and "sexual interference" (i.e., touching a minor for a sexual purpose).[2] On January 11, 2019, MacIntyre pleaded guilty to sexual interference and was sentenced to three years in prison, while the charge of sexual assault was withdrawn.[3]
On January 2, 2017, MacIntyre — while speaking to the press — asserted that human activity is not the primary cause of climate change.[4] This conflicts with the current scientific opinion on climate change, which asserts a 95% confidence that climate change is caused primarily by human activities.
The Alberta New Democratic Party — which held a majority government in the legislature — responded by requesting that the Wildrose Party – the official opposition – remove Don MacIntyre from his position as energy critic. Leduc-Beaumont NDP MLA Shaye Anderson said, "It’s irresponsible to lend climate change-denying conspiracies the credibility of the office of the Official Opposition. Unless (Wildrose Leader Brian) Jean agrees with what Mr. MacIntyre is saying, he must remove him from his position."[5]
The Wildrose Party responded by issuing a statement that, "We get calls daily from Albertans living in NDP-held ridings furious that their MLAs are not listening to their opposition to the carbon tax. I suggest they spend their time listening to those concerns,"[6] – in reference to the $20 per tonne carbon tax put in place by the Alberta government.[7]
MacIntyre resigned his seat as legislative representative for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake in February 2018, near the time he was charged with sexual assault and sexual interference involving a girl under the age of 16. The actions occurred between five and ten times between 2010 and 2011 and, during the trial, MacIntyre claimed that his actions were done during a dark period of his life and part of Satan's plan.[8] He also told his victim during the actions that God had approved the abuse.[9]
On January 11, 2019, MacIntyre pled guilty to sexual interference and was sentenced to three years in prison, while the charge of sexual assault was withdrawn.[3]