Christina Frangou

It was smoky and dark. Everyone on my street was packing their cars. It was like an apocalyptic scene in a movie.

After four years as leader of the Official Opposition, the NDP heavyweight wants Alberta’s top job—again. But to win the premiership, she will also have to defy the odds.

For the past 20 years, the 54-year-old Vancouver woman has amassed $40,000 in debts trying to treat myalgic encephalomyelitis and other ailments. When her money runs out, she says a medically assisted death may be her only option.

Helen Naslund endured his violence for nearly three decades. Her story is extraordinary, but her pathway to the criminal justice system is not. The majority of female offenders experience abuse before being charged, and the crimes they commit are often an effort to end it.