Separatists Accused by Elections Alberta of Illegally Using Voter List

Ajouté : 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]Are the Alberta separatists cheating?

[00:00:02]Well, Elections Alberta thinks they might be. So, journalist Jeremy Appel has the scoop. Jeremy, what went on at the Centurion Project launch last night?

[00:00:11]Well, Elections Alberta investigators showed up with several Edmonton police officers and asked to speak with an event organizer who was Tim Hoven, who you might remember as a disqualified UCP candidate in 2023 who's now a separatist. Uh and they told Hoven that there was a cease and desist letter sent to the Centurion Project the night before saying that Elections Alberta has reason to believe that they've accessed the list of electors, which is only supposed to be in possession of political parties and legislators.

[00:00:56]So, how the organizer of the Centurion group is David Parker, who's quite infamous as the force behind Take Back Alberta that put Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in office in 2022.

[00:01:12]And what's Parker's role in all of this?

[00:01:16]Yeah, so Parker seems to yeah, have created this app, which is essentially what the Centurion Project is.

[00:01:28]Separatists can access log on to a website and access what appears to be a database of eligible voters in Alberta and essentially check off people they know who are pro separatism and send these people surveys and then these people, once they fill out their survey, are prompted to do the same. So, it kind of has a viral effect, which is what leads to Elections Alberta's concern that they've obtained the list of electors from some political entity who is permitted to have it.

[00:02:11]So, essentially there's a list out there of all the voters in Alberta and their phone numbers, their addresses, the very sensitive information that was given to Parker or someone in the project that we don't know exactly who yet, but they some they obtained it in suspect ways.

[00:02:30]And this is an advantage that the other side, Forever Canadian and others, just don't have, right?

[00:02:36]Yeah, as far as we know, they didn't access the list of electors.

[00:02:43]Um and they, you know, went out and, you know, canvassed people, did sort of old school campaigning. Parker said at the event, he finished speaking like a few minutes before the police arrived. I just happened to be outside for some fresh air when that happened, which has led to at least one person, you know, having a conspiracy theory about that.

[00:03:09]But, I don't call the cops. That's not my style.

[00:03:13]But, yeah, Parker said that the problem is we're not going to we're not going to win. We're not going to win by holding town halls and knocking on doors and making phone calls. We need something better, something different, something that's quicker. And he boasts that with this app, within 15 minutes, you can connect with 10 people on it. So, he sort of promoted its efficiency. He boasted that he he he went on tour with Tucker Carlson a year or two ago through the states. I think it was in the lead-up to the Trump election, so it would have been 2 years ago. And he said that the event in Grand Rapids, Michigan that Carlson spoke at was sponsored by a company that creates this sort of uh content management system for lack of a better term. And that this was actually really instrumental in Trump winning Michigan.

[00:04:23]Well, isn't that interesting? Now, my understanding is that since last night, Elections Alberta has actually been to court to try to prevent the use of that list.

[00:04:35]Yes, that's right. First thing in the this morning, sorry.

[00:04:39]That's right. First thing this morning, Joey Redman, who's lawyer for the chief electoral officer, was at the Court of King's Bench in Edmonton attempting to get an interim injunction against the Centurion Project, but also the Republican Party of Alberta to take down this database that the Centurion Project has. And the Republican Party of Alberta, it appears based on the Elections Alberta investigation, um were the source of the list that the Centurion Project used. Redman was careful to say it's unclear whether the Republican Party of Alberta gave them this list or if someone just left it on the desk and it was taken from them improperly. But, he expressed confidence that it's the same list of electors because it's slightly outdated. It's from I think a year ago.

[00:05:47]Um that the Republican Party has.

[00:05:54]So, the the the issue here is you've got a couple of problems. One is who actually leaked it. It's it would be illegal to give it to somebody that isn't authorized to have it. And then it's the use of the the database by the by the Centurion Project to link it to their app and use it for the purposes they're using it.

[00:06:17]Yeah, that's that's that's that's correct. It's sort of two separate breaches of the Election Act. Um Fines are upwards of $10,000 um for this.

[00:06:32]Elections Alberta said in a statement today, which I would highlight is very unusual for Elections Alberta to issue a statement on an investigation that hasn't completed, right? They normally are very tight-lipped, but I think I can take partial credit for sort of forcing their hand, as well as all the separatists who were there and making a big fuss about it online and and and spreading some uh disinformation about it.

[00:07:02]Um You know, I I think they felt compelled to um issue a comment just to make it clear sort of what they are alleging and what they aren't alleging. And And the one thing to highlight from that is that they're confident it wasn't a breach that Elections Alberta was hacked, right? They're saying that wasn't the case. That some third party inappropriately gave the Centurion Project this electors list.

[00:07:29]Let's talk about David Parker a little bit because Parker and I have been sparring on on social media for years now. And he's >> You and Pierre Poilievre. Yes, yes.

[00:07:39]>> have in common. Uh but I you know, Parker is a fairly extreme individual in my opinion based on my interactions with him. And And he's been in trouble with Elections Alberta before, has he not?

[00:07:51]He sure has.

[00:07:54]This relates to Take Back Alberta, the organization he's famous for. Um in the lead-up to the 2023 election, he held a series of town halls, as well as this big event in Red Deer with Jordan Peterson that were essentially campaign events. They were trying to get the vote out for the UCP.

[00:08:18]And what's interesting is Take Back Alberta was registered as a third-party advertiser, right? So, that suggests they know that they're advertising for an election. You can do that. You can go out and tell people to vote for a certain party on a mass scale if you register and you disclose your you know, your your revenues and and and your expenses, but you go to their forms that they have to submit to Elections Alberta and it says $0, right?

[00:08:53]And so, I think that caught the suspicion of investigators.

[00:08:57]And last year, Parker himself was individually fined, I think, seven or eight grand. And then Take Back Alberta itself was fined more than $100,000 for various Elections Act offenses, including one that was particularly notable that caught a lot of people's eye, was accepting money from outside Canada.

[00:09:27]Well, that two questions then. The first one is has that been resolved? Has Parker paid his fines and is he in good standing now? And second, we've heard I've I've interviewed political scientist Dwayne Brat about this and he said wait and watch. We're going to be there's going to be a flood of misinformation and disinformation into Alberta about separatism from the United States. It looks like this is maybe the pointy end of the spear.

[00:09:56]Oh, yeah. I mean, for certain.

[00:10:00]I mean, Danielle Smith has opened the floodgates to bring corporate money back into elections and union money, but it's a lot easier for I think corporations to skirt the laws than is for union, right? Cuz you can't It's not like you can create a shell union, at least not easily like you can for a corporation. That's harder to trace.

[00:10:24]In terms of the fines that TBA owes to Elections Alberta, I'm actually not clear as to whether they've been paid or not. I know Parker when he first revealed that he was under investigation in early 2024, which I was the first person to report by the way.

[00:10:46]He said, "I will not participate in this investigation. It's lawfare. They're targeting me cuz of my political beliefs." He said that it's all this It's this union conspiracy even though Elections Alberta employees are not unionized.

[00:11:06]And he was very defiant. He wouldn't provide cuz they wanted a list of his donors, right? That that was an important part of the investigation.

[00:11:17]And Parker said, "No, over my dead body.

[00:11:20]You're not getting that. I don't know what these people are going to do with them. I'm protecting my followers, etc., etc." And then he gets fined $5,000, I believe, for refusing to cooperate. And then he's like, "Okay, you can have the list." And I believe he's challenging them in court. That that that was the last time I checked, which would delay his need to pay the fines considerably.

[00:11:49]Jeremy, we'd wrap up the interview this way.

[00:11:53]My understanding is there's going to be more reporting. You've got some that you're going to be doing today and other reporters have got some fresh information on this.

[00:12:01]So, I'm sure that we'll be be coming back to you for more comment.

[00:12:07]What's your final tie bow around this story for us as based on what we know?

[00:12:13]Well, I think it shows that the separatists are frustrated that their polling numbers have essentially been stagnant over the past year, right? There's recent poll out from Janet Brown that shows they're stuck at 27%.

[00:12:30]And other pollsters have attested to that as well. So, I think this speaks to desperation on the part of certain separatist groups. I mean, it appears Take Free Alberta has more than enough signatures to get the question on the ballot, but there is currently a stay against counting those ballots that a court of King's Bench Justice issued earlier this month in response to challenges from First Nations. So, I mean, we'll see what happens there.

[00:13:19]I mean, Parker is someone who I think is addicted to the spotlight. And while he was sort of the main leader of this right-wing populist grassroots that Danielle Smith has cultivated initially, I think he's really been supplanted by the Alberta Prosperity Project / Take Free Alberta. Still not quite sure what the difference between them is, but Mitch Sylvester. And I think Parker is, if I may psychologize a bit, uh trying to ride the coattails of Sylvester and the the more organized separatist movement um with this. And so far, not off to a great start for him, but uh you know, it's trite, but we'll have to wait and see.

[00:14:12]Well, Jeremy, always appreciate your insights. Thank you very much for this.

[00:14:16]Always good It's been a while and it's good to be back.