Why Won't Danielle Smith Denounce David Parker From Take Back Alberta? 30 Minute Panel Discussion

Ajouté : 2026-05-16

[00:00:04]A massive data breach in Alberta is drumming up even more controversy as the leader of the separatist group accused of breaching the private information of millions of voters is refusing to cooperate with at least one investigation. Elections Alberta says David Parker, the founder of the Centurion Project, is not cooperating and has refused to confirm if he will comply with a cease and desist letter.

[00:00:25]The separatist group is accused of improperly obtaining and misusing a provincial voters's list by creating an online database that included Albertans's full names, their home addresses, and their contact information. The RCMP is also investigating the breach, as is the privacy commissioner. Now, David Parker already faces multiple hefty fines from Elections Alberta for previously violating voting laws. And he recently posted this to social media. This was in April. It reads, "Elections Alberta is an evil institution that is used to suppress democracy. I will not rest until everyone responsible for the lawfare are being waged out of that den of evil are brought to justice." The power rankings panel is here. We've got Marty Patricken. He is the Quebec correspondent for the logic. Jason Marcusoff is a writer and producer for CBC News. And Shannon Proudfoot is a reporter with the Globe and Mail. And whoever is calling my cell phone, I will call you back after the show.

[00:01:20]Let's um Jason um the den of evil that is elections Alberta um it's like Sauron runs votes out there. What do you make of this latest development, the refusal comply and what can it mean for the whole integrity of this process?

[00:01:35]>> Oh, you know that's a phrase I definitely don't use in my uh my own copy of evil. if he sounds like somebody uh who comes from uh who who maybe uh you know more familiar with less with Canadian politics and our gentiel nature and MAGA politics is that he actually spent quite a bit the last few years uh down south the border uh helping out the tours of uh broadcasters Megan Kelly and Tucker Carlson and uh they're used you know we're used to such bombastic language and resistant language uh from people uh south the border uh here here not so much uh you know he some people take to it. There are a lot of uh separatists and activists uh who really follow him and believe him what he does.

[00:02:20]Um but he's come at uh Pierre Paul before. He's come after Danielle Smith uh before even though they were quite close and uh she was a guest at his wedding a few years ago. Um but she's actually talked about him in the past.

[00:02:32]She's like hoping that he gets the help he needs uh because he can be so bombastic, so uh so erratic in some of his online or social media. um within the separatist movement and outside the separatist movement, there are a lot of people who are now wondering uh how big a book uh elections Albertan authorities can throw at him and how fast uh given the gravity of the breach. And he's somebody who has been in politics for quite a while, been active in parties, likes to boast about uh all the success he's had in different elections. Uh so he would know uh what the laws are, especially around uh party lists.

[00:03:05]>> Yes. And uh we've lost Marty for a second. I don't think he is separated, but we have lost connection. we'll get them back. Uh I'm having a problem with my TX here, too. It's falling apart. But Shannon, uh just on this, I mean, the the integrity of this process, what they're trying to do here, the fact that this, you know, Jason's data is breached, right, in this I'm assuming you voted in Alberta elections, Jason.

[00:03:24]So, this is all >> Sorry, if I could just clarify, David, even if I didn't vote, uh you're on a voter list, but only if you're eligible.

[00:03:31]So, it's it's every it's 2.9 million people. That's way more than actually voted.

[00:03:34]>> Right. Exactly. So, it's all out there.

[00:03:36]And now this refusal to cooperate and the challenge of the integrity of the very institution. I mean, what do you make of the dynamic that's been unleashed here in Alberta?

[00:03:45]>> Well, I think part of the troubling aspect of it is that the this guy appears to want to be made a martyr, right? You can see that in the language how how how drummed up it is. Um, so the more he can position himself as a sort of freedom fighter, the better for his cause. Um, we saw just this past weekend, uh, in the Toronto Star, Richard Warick had a really great piece.

[00:04:03]That was an excellent piece, spending a lot of time in Alberta, a land he knows well, um, talking about how completely unhinged from reality the cases are that they're making. And that to me feels like to Jason's point about the kind of megaess of it. That feels to me like the most mega aspect of this that you're talking about people who are existing in a fundamentally different reality who believe a set of facts that they would say fuel the need for Alberta to separate that are not real. They don't they don't exist. But no amount of factchecking is going to change that.

[00:04:34]But also what's really troubling and I maybe I'm being an eastern elite here.

[00:04:38]Fine. I'll own it. Is is how Danielle Smith has not quelled any of this. I mean, there's this very knowing quality, it seems, to the separatist faction that knows that it pushed Jason Kenny out of the UCP. They've talked about flooding the membership of the party. So, there really is this kind of if if you think of the UCP as still sort of the the establishment, the professional political element of this, there seems to be sort of an attempt to take over or to at least have it be sort of a mutiny.

[00:05:06]And Danielle Smith has shown very little inclination to push back on any of it.

[00:05:09]Well, the the problem uh and just for those of you following the twin crises on the show, my TX is fixed and I think Marty is back. Uh is Marty Yes, Marty's there. Yes. All right. Part part of the problem, Marty, I don't know if you heard what Shannon said there that about just what's happening with with with this movement in Alberta and the UCP. I mean, it is a sizable chunk of the membership and the base of the United Conservative Party, right? Like Polaro did a poll like we've seen polling that separatism is at about 30 35% support but Polaro did a poll that it's at 55% amongst the United Conservative Party base right and I asked the premier if she was leading a separatist party and she said no but there are definitely there's definitely a big separatist block within her party and within her movement and and that is the big challenge she's got as a political leader right now.

[00:05:56]Uh yeah, the parallels to Quebec are interesting a little bit is that the third way party sort of happened after the separatist party. That is to say the CAQ the Quebec which is in power now >> has very much the worldview that that Daniel Smith would like. That is to say a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada which is exactly what CAQ wants to do a a sovereign you know a nationalistic Quebec within a united Canada kind of thing. Uh the the difference in Alberta is there isn't that outlet. We have the Pskea. PKU is saying they're going to have a referendum the next as of the next uh uh provincial election in October. Uh Alberta doesn't have that. Uh and what I think is going to be a huge challenge or it is a huge challenge demonstrabably for for Daniel Smith is the leadership of this separatist movement coming out and going uh you know storm the bases like let's get in get in there and let's take over this party. Uh and you know it's it's fascist leaders behaving badly. You know today uh po leader of PQ came out and said without without any evidence that the federal government might be spying on them. Um these are the kinds of things they just throw out there and the stuff that that's coming out of David Parker's mouth. You know talking about immigration, talking about deporting immigrants after who got here after 2015 who might have gotten the vaccine. This is the kind of stuff that's being left left unchecked. And as to Shannon's point, you leave that unchecked, it becomes a massive problem.

[00:07:23]>> Massive data breach in Alberta is drumming up even more controversy as the leader of the separatist group accused of breaching the private information of millions of voters, is refusing to cooperate with at least one investigation. Elections Alberta says David Parker, the founder of the Centurion Project, is not cooperating and has refused to confirm if he will comply with a cease and desist letter.

[00:07:45]The separatist group is accused of improperly obtaining and then misusing a provincial voter list by creating an online database that included Albertans full names, home addresses, and contact information. The RCMP is also investigating this breach. Now, David Parker already faces multiple hefty fines from Elections Alberta for previously violating voting laws and recently posted this to social media.

[00:08:08]This was in April. It reads, "Elections Alberta is an evil institution that is used to suppress democracy. I will not rest until everyone responsible for the lawfare being waged out of that den of evil are brought to justice.

[00:08:22]That's where we're going to start with the power panel. We've got Emily Nicola.

[00:08:25]She is a columnist for L Devoir. Nathan Cullen is a former NDP MP and a BCNDP minister. Cameron Ahmad was head of communications for former prime minister Justin Trudeau. And Peter McCay is a former Conservative uh cabinet minister.

[00:08:39]Um you know this is Emily. um this is messy and um it's just maybe the future of the country that could be on the line as a result of this. I mean, what do you make of the fact that he has this he's not complying and calling the people who run elections enemies of democracy? What are your thoughts there?

[00:08:59]>> Uh yes, I was just laughing at the evil part, the den of evil uh and election Canada. It's uh it's really something.

[00:09:08]Um obviously it's it's not fun at all.

[00:09:11]um for uh the people whose data has been uh has been breached. Uh that is uh a serious matter, a serious concern. Um and it's also that even though there is an investigation, even though there is a fine, even though there are consequences, that that is already out there um and what other parties might do to it uh or with it uh is still is still a question. And so I think it's very worrisome if you're part of that breach.

[00:09:38]Uh there's also uh civil concerns that people have been perhaps less paying attention to when it comes to online organizing as well and Facebook groups and whatnot and the ways in which it it has how people gather uh ele uh information as well about about electors but no it is a it is a really uh serious concern. I will just say that it's a weird day as well. Um there was uh this interview in La Prize this morning with Ramaldon leader of the Pasqua who on a very different note very different topic also said that he's taking uh measures because he's scared to be spied on by Ottawa as he's look looking into doing a a referendum and so it's a it's a day for uh Ottawa is evil uh in this in this country on a very different style and and note and obviously it's not on the same scale of scandal at all. Um, but I'm just noticing that the two provinces are are having interesting conversations about the evils of Ottawa today.

[00:10:41]>> Well, this I mean David Parker's talking about elections Alberta, so it's the provincial elections office. But I take your point. It's about institutions, Nathan Cullen, right? And and yeah, and I look, I've mentioned this a couple of times, but Richard Warick in the Toronto Star, who grew up in Alberta, went back there and interviewed one of the separatist leaders, >> very revealing piece on the information ecosystem there. and and one of these leaders suggested the king, King Charles may be out to get him for what he's doing. So, you know, the elections Alberta being called an evil institution used to suppress democracy, not paying fines, not complying, and misusing the list. I mean, how does a referendum go ahead in all of that?

[00:11:18]>> Well, that's part of the grievance. The list of grievances are about those institutions. uh we we like I don't want to say everything's reflected up from the US but this was part of the package that Donald Trump brought to the US electorate that not only if your life is no good or you're feeling agrieved by something the system at large in order for that narrative to land people have to have something to point to which institution you talking about going after elections Alberta or suggesting the federal government's going to spy on you because you ascend to be the premier of Quebec that is part of the pitch that is part of the conspiracy is that the system is rigged around us and it actually does huge harm I think inevitably to the Alberta separatist movement whatever it is cobbled together because now if you're saying I don't like the way transfer payments work in this country which is you can make an argument about it and Albertans have for a long time you're now getting locked into this conspiracy of elections Alberta our elections is now this den of evil and guilt by association. And I think this is also a problem for the premier because senior members of her staff have been directly implicated in this massive data breach of personal information affecting journalists, politicians, pastors, women escaping domestic violence. Like the list of people implicated by this is 3 million long.

[00:12:45]>> Right. But now this question the staff the government staffer was someone who attended the online meeting. Right? That's what you're talking about there. Yeah. No, I just want I just wanted to clarify that for people at home so they know what you're talking about.

[00:12:56]>> This this is this is the challenge for Premier Smith is that I think their strategy has let a little steam off the the separatist feeling in Alberta by lowering the threshold to have this referendum. Her staff are encouraging some of her MLAs are voting or voting and supporting in favor of Alberta separating. This is dangerous stuff to play with and I'm worried about the next few months for our Alberta friends and even those again who have some legitimate grievances with the way the country's run. You're now being collected up into this bandwagon of conspiracy and frankly insanity to talk about our elections offices this way.

[00:13:31]That's ridiculous.

[00:13:32]>> Yeah. Well, Cameron, it seems to be a a two-prong sort of strategy here by the premier in that, you know, sort of allowing the pressure release valve of people trying to get a referendum and using that to sort of create leverage in negotiations with the federal government. And the problem now is that the the guard rails have either been skipped or shattered or never existed and you have this sort of rogue operation allegedly happening. I mean, what do you make of the dynamic that that they're in now with David Parker just not cooperating with the investigation?

[00:13:59]>> It's astounding. I mean, I don't even know where to start, but Nathan Nathan put it so well. This is con layers of conspiracy upon each other. Um, this is well beyond a question of is it legitimate to hold a referendum on separation. This is about sewing doubt in our democratic institutions. It's about making all kinds of ridiculous claims without backing them up. And it's it's extremely dangerous, I think, for how we talk about our democracy. And uh I I think the premier has obviously a responsibility to deal with this with the seriousness that it deserves. She has to show that this that she's taking this seriously because the scale of this breach, the scale of the of the risk that it poses to millions of Albertans is huge. And so whether whatever you feel about a referendum, whatever you feel about Ottawa, whatever you feel about the idea of Alberta separating this, what happened here, what is alleged to have happened is extremely serious. So I think that is the biggest challenge for the premier is to show people where wherever they stand on the issue that she's taking it seriously and that this kind of behavior, not refusing to comply with Elections Alberta and and denigrating them like this publicly, it's just ridiculous. Um but the deeper issue here is that these types of and this is not the first time in in Canada that we've had proliferation of conspiracy theories um and that they've kind of gone unchecked by certain uh political movements. We should have learned our lessons from that and and people in leadership positions need to not laugh it off or just call it fringe but actually do something about it and hold people accountable. Well, you you know, Peter McKay, this is what what I wonder about because whether you like it or not, it is a legitimate political action to try to have a separatism referendum in Canada. We've got the Sovereignty Act. We've had, you know, we've have lived experience with it. But if you're going to allow it, you need to have real strong rules, oversight, guard rails, and enforcement rules around it, especially with social media, artificial intelligence, and what we know about foreign, if it's not direct government intervention, but just meddling to create chaos. and it all of the weaknesses seem to be on display right now in what's happening with Alberta.

[00:16:13]>> Yeah, I think that's right. And uh you know, I can hearken back and I think Nathan would have been there as well for the the Clarity Act debates that went on in Ottawa for a time. And so you're right, we're we're playing with fire unless we're able to ensure integrity within the system. And I think everybody on this call would be in in versiferous agreement that uh you know shaking at the foundation of democracy when you go off in all of these directions that question the legitimacy of the vote sort of laying the ground as we've seen in the United States before with you know the system's rigged uh the vote itself is not going to be legitimate. that that really does undermine people's faith in institutions and the system that is tasked with with casting votes and and whether their votes count. We saw, you know, an election overturned in Quebec on one vote >> and that came down to elections Canada.

[00:17:07]It wasn't it wasn't deemed to be anything along the lines of what we're seeing here. As far as complying with Elections Alberta, this is an important issue at stake, too, because does Elections Alberta have the the heft and the weight and the legislative authority to enforce? Um, are the RCMP going to be involved? And if so, people, you know, expect Yeah. that there will be there will be uh, you know, accountability.

[00:17:33]The premier is sort of now stepping back a little bit and saying, well, I have to wait for the investigation. Okay, fair enough. But, uh, the individual at the center of all of this has been a central figure, uh, in the premier's campaign, in the previous premier's campaign, in in a number of federal campaigns. And so, where is this data coming from? Who else was involved? I mean, this is going to potentially bust wide open when it comes to how this type of data is handled. And you know I I want to underscore again the importance of the point that Emily and others have made and and that is people who are not partisan, not activists are caught up in this uh as true victims because their data is now available can be used for all kinds of I dare say nefarious purposes putting them at risk. So this is a very very serious issue that I think has the potential to go off madly in in all directions and until uh those tasked with reigning in this type of activity uh do their jobs there there is a lot at stake in not just in Alberta.

[00:18:46]>> Yeah. So, so on that, so Emily, as you look at this and the people tasked with reigning it in, whether it's the privacy commissioner, the elections commissioner who says they need better laws on this or the RCMP, David Parker is a formidable political organizer, right?

[00:18:59]Take back Alberta, born out of the COVID restriction protest movement, took out one premier, helped elect another, has played a role in nominations all over uh Alberta and into Saskatchewan.

[00:19:09]>> He he doesn't respect elections Alberta.

[00:19:11]He will not pay his fines. If the next step when you don't pay a lot of your fines and you are found guilty, you often get arrested. The the if something like that happens in a moment like this, it becomes an accelerant maybe in Alberta right now where where it is the the tinder is pretty dry with the separatist movement already.

[00:19:32]>> Yes. and there is the the potential for for martyrdom uh there for for a part of a base uh that has been radicalized. Um as as an outsider, I will just say that a lot of this sounds um you're right that this is a person that has been a a key organizer. uh but a lot of even when starting back uh with the pandemic uh and the uh the movement against uh vaccines or whatnot a lot of it um the the border with the US was very uh porous uh and what I'm seeing is that uh it's not just the data breach issue it's the fact that we are calling uh into uh question the legitimacy of an electoral process and rules and guidelines in Canada that sounds very American and very Republican as well uh in terms of the script and the way to handle yourself uh as a way to chip away chip away at the legitimacy of democratic institutions and so I think there's a tactical playbook here uh that is also being uh borrowed or imitated and copied and uh we need to uh look at the ways in which democracy the south border is being eroded to be able to at least uh anticipate what moves could be done next. Uh it sounds very MAGA to me in terms of >> the way to handle yourself and in terms of being able to anticipate certain scenarios. I would look down south because there's certainly a connection between that movement and what's happening in the US as well.

[00:21:10]>> Yeah. Um I just got an email from someone saying, "What's the big deal with the Alberta Data Bridge name, address, and phone number that's called an oldfashioned phone book." Uh it's 2026. It's not 1986 and a lot of people have their addresses and numbers unlisted like the premier. That's right.

[00:21:23]The former premier and all of that's in this data set that went out. So, it's a violation of privacy and potential safety risk. But Nathan Cullen uh you have to calibrate the enforcement of this I suspect because of the Emily talked about martyrdom potential and and what it might do raising the question of what it could do to inflame uh sort of uh you know the separatist sentiment if the authorities crack down on this. I mean, how do you calibrate that going forward? Because you got to protect the process, but there are the potential consequences of a fight like this.

[00:21:53]>> Does this not seem like an obvious setup? If there is an eventual referendum, they lose and then say it was stolen. It was rigged.

[00:22:01]>> It was like, tell me if any of this language sounds familiar because it's from a from a very familiar playbook >> and and and the language is already starting, right? saying, "Oh, the people who are running this race are corrupt and evil and all of these things." And so, it's part of that larger system, the the larger grievance package, why we need to separate, why we need to do all of these things and upend the system.

[00:22:27]This is why this is such dangerous stuff to play with. and to the notion of letting off steam. And to your second point about increasing the premier, Alberta premier's ability to negotiate with Ottawa. This is the the downside of this is if you talk to anybody who wants to invest in Alberta because this conversation and its continuence beyond the fall next year, the year after, we can ask our friends in Quebec how difficult it was over the 30-year span of leaving the country, not leaving the country, this being a consuming debate beyond left and right politics. but yes, no referendum questions is devastating to the ability to attract talent, to attract investment, all those things that Alberta talks about all the time.

[00:23:09]So, this is not a game without consequence and cost, especially when you're dealing with folks like Mr. Parker who are very comfortable running these >> conspiracy, stolen election, rigged evil type narratives and running them within now a voter list of everybody's contact, which is just so dangerous.

[00:23:27]>> Yeah. Look, if you think getting a pipeline to the coast through a reluctant province is hard, try to do it through a foreign country, right? That's an entirely different thing. Uh Cameron, your your last thoughts on this and then Peters, and I want to move on to what's happening in Ontario.

[00:23:38]>> Well, just quickly, you said something earlier, David, about how uh you know, advocating for a more for the sovereignty of a province or a region is legitimate and that can be debated. As a diehard federalist from Quebec, uh I agree with that. So I so I think the way we're talking about this issue right now has to be specifically about this issue about what happened here and what the risk is for people and whether how it contravenes or may contravene u the rules and people's rights and privacy.

[00:24:06]Um but but when it comes to the bigger question about about Alberta sovereignty, it has to be the the debate for federalists has to be one on its merits and has a the most compelling argument has to be made that it is better to stay in Canada for all these reasons. And uh we se we have to separate that I think from this very serious sideshow essentially that that is that is occurring right now. But it's a it's a sideshow with extremely uh dangerous potentially consequences for the country. Yeah, there's a collision impact and and I take your point like Jacqu Perzo didn't dox westmount, right?

[00:24:37]This is a different kind of thing.

[00:24:38]Peter, your thoughts on this and we'll move on to what Smith said.

[00:24:42]Yeah, I completely agree with what's just been said, particularly on the dire consequences when it comes to something as serious as separatism. But also, uh picking up on on the fact that, you know, driving down voter participation, voter suppression is also sadly something that has been weaponized along with the use of data, along with vilifying your opposition, vilifying institutions. We've seen that. and and one of the age-old tactics is to come out strong accusing others of doing exactly what you're doing in your campaign as a strategy. That's something that uh Mr. Parker seems to be very good at. So all of this taken at its whole is is something that has to be taken uh very seriously and there has to be action because you know I'm I'm repeating myself by saying this but if there is no consequence if there is no actual follow through on uh you know the RCMP the courts um elections Alberta doing their job then then this is going to continue and and it will expand and and can you know have uh have an out, you know, an outcome that nobody wants that uh will dissuade people from participating. You know, not to sound polyianish, but we absolutely need to protect democracy with all our force. We saw what happened with the truckers movement and you know the government of Canada coming under scrutiny for having taken unusual steps in invoking the emergencies act using uh you know questionable tactics to seize bank accounts and the Supreme Court of Canada had to step in and say no that was not appropriate in the circumstances. So this makes it all the way to the top.

[00:26:27]It's it's made its way into government.

[00:26:29]It's made its way into the courts the institutions. Canadians, I think, are sometimes baffled that things have really sort of found, you know, found their way to uh to elections as well as everything else and are having such an impact on people's lives.

[00:26:47]>> Peter, correct if I'm wrong. The Supreme Court of Canada hasn't weighed in yet on the Emergencies Act. It's going there.

[00:26:51]Was the federal court, right? Am I right on that? Sorry, you're right. Yeah. No, it's just I can't correct it. It was the federal court. Okay. Because that it's under appeal.

[00:26:59]>> Yeah. Because I know it was off, but I don't think I missed that. Okay.