MLA of Fort McMurray, Alta. Mike Allen at his Fort McMurray business Campbell's Music on March 11, 2005.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
It was a decision that Fort McMurray MLA Mike Allen said he made when he was bored, single and lonely, and it has haunted him for the past 12 months.
Caught in a prostitution sting while on Alberta government business in the United States last July, Mr. Allen was quietly granted the forgiveness of a majority of his fellow Progressive Conservative MLAs earlier this month. He has now been allowed back into the government caucus.
"I can't change the past," he said in an interview.
"I accept full responsibility. And as I result I expect to be held to a higher standard."
Mr. Allen, a jazz musician and music store owner, was a constituency-focused MLA who shied away from headlines and was perhaps destined to remain in the backbenches of the long-governing PC government even before July, 2013. The issues he focused on in his Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo riding were seniors care, new highways and housing for the burgeoning oil sands town.
But last year, Mr. Allen was in St. Paul, Minn. as a representative of the province at a meeting with U.S. legislators. After a day of work at the conference, he made contact with what he thought was an escort service and arranged to pay $200 for one hour with two prostitutes – who were really undercover policewomen.
He had set down the cash and started taking off his jacket when other officers entered the room and arrested him.
What followed was a swift apology and resignation from the Tory caucus by Mr. Allen. He also repaid the costs of the trip.
However, then-premier Alison Redford – citing her government's focus on preventing the sexual exploitation of women – said she was "disgusted" by his actions. The Official Opposition Wildrose called for his immediate resignation.
Still, Mr. Allen decided to stay on as an independent MLA.
In December, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour offence. He was fined $500 with an additional $500 in court surcharges and fees, and also received one year's probation.
He has spent the last 12 months apologizing. And having decided to stay on as MLA – and withstand the "very cruel at times" barbs on Twitter and editorials saying he should resign – he now has a solid, if mild-mannered, streak of defiance.
"What a lot of people didn't know, or forgot, is that I'm a single man," Mr. Allen said.
The 52-year-old grandfather said he has always had the support of his ex-wife, and two adult children.
He said much of the criticism has come from anonymous Twitter accounts, or from people who support other parties. Mostly people are polite, he said, and he has received wide support from constituents, friends and political advisers.
"At the same time, there are people that contacted me that I have known personally – that were supporters – that were very disappointed. And those are the ones that hurt," Mr. Allen said, noting he is still trying to make amends.
"I am aware there are people that are still unhappy. I am aware that I let a lot of people down."
Tory caucus members voted in a secret ballot on whether to let him back into caucus, but he said he knows the vote was solidly on his side. Even political critics say it's now up to Fort McMurray constituents to decide Mr. Allen's political fate.
"People make mistakes," said Wildrose House Leader Rob Anderson.
"He was on government business when it occurred, and it was quite embarrassing for the province," he said.
"But Albertans and Canadians are pretty forgiving folks."
When the story first broke, Mr. Allen said he wanted "to run away and hide from it, and disappear from all the criticism."
But staying in the public eye helped him deal with it personally, he mantains. He has a number of things he wants to get done in his constituency over the next two years, but hasn't decided whether he will run again in the next provincial election, scheduled for early 2016.
"I just knew that if I didn't face it, and deal with it, that it would be many years before I would even be able to accept myself."
Kelly Cryderman reports from The Globe's Calgary bureau
Editor's note: Mr. Allen received the forgiveness of his fellow Progressive Conservative MLAs earlier this month. A previous version of this story incorrectly said it was last month. This version has been corrected.