Alberta's electors list contains the personal information of 2.9 million residents in the province.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Elections Alberta has identified nearly 600 people who it alleges were given unauthorized access to the province’s list of electors by a separatist group.
The data breach has raised concerns about privacy and safety, including the possibility bad actors outside Canada could use the information to influence the independence movement. Partly because of her concerns over foreign interference, Premier Danielle Smith’s office said on Thursday that she has now obtained national-security clearance from Canada’s spy service so she can receive top-secret briefings.
Elections Alberta on Wednesday sent cease-and-desist letters to 23 people that the agency says received the complete voter list from the pro-independence Centurion Project. They were given 48 hours to sign a declaration asserting they have complied with the agency’s order to stop using the data, Elections Alberta spokesperson Michelle Gurney said in a statement to The Globe and Mail.
Andrew Coyne: Here’s the real scandal at the heart of the Alberta data breach
An additional 545 people have accessed the list and also received letters from the agency, Ms. Gurney wrote, though they are not required to return a signed declaration.
The list of electors contained the personal information of 2.9 million Alberta residents. Elections Alberta has not instructed people to destroy any data that they might have in their possession.
It wasn’t previously known how many people had accessed the list.
David Parker, one of Centurion’s leaders, has maintained he has done nothing illegal. He did not respond to a request for comment.
The data breach has sent shockwaves around the province. The Alberta NDP and governing United Conservative Party have pointed fingers at each other over when the parties knew the data had been made public, while public figures and others have raised concerns about their safety and threatened legal action. It has also polarized the separatist movement, with leaders trying to navigate the situation without alienating supporters.
The cease-and-desist letters are Elections Alberta’s latest move to limit access to the province’s list of electors, which it says was distributed by the Centurion Project, a separatist organization working to build support for an independent Alberta.
Alberta separatist group submits petition calling for referendum
Last week, a Court of King’s Bench judge issued a temporary injunction that required the Centurion Project to stop distributing the data it had used for campaigning purposes, which was publicly available on an app. The group shuttered the app that morning.
The app’s database, analyzed by The Globe, contained more personal information than what was available through the tool’s simple search function, including names and addresses for 2,957,857 Albertans, along with unique elector ID numbers, middle names and 2,083,175 phone numbers.
The RCMP is investigating the data breach. On Thursday, Alberta Privacy Commissioner Diane McLeod said she had launched her own investigation into the allegations.
Counsel for Elections Alberta on Thursday appeared in the Court of King’s Bench in Edmonton to schedule a future court date, as the agency seeks to make permanent the court order that prevents the Centurion Project from sharing information allegedly stemming from the list of electors.
The allegations of unauthorized access to the sensitive information have also led to questions over whether changes to election law made last year by Ms. Smith’s government constrained the watchdog’s ability to investigate.
Elections Alberta received its first complaint about the Centurion Project’s app in late March but initially declined to investigate, saying it was hindered by the Elections Act.
The Globe was one of the parties on Wednesday evening that received a cease-and-desist letter from Gordon McClure, Alberta’s chief electoral officer.
Elections Alberta says the electors list that was distributed belonged to the Republican Party of Alberta, a registered political party advocating for independence. The regulator seeds elector lists with fake names, which can then be used to trace leaks. The names listed in the Centurion Project’s database were linked to the Republican Party’s list, the agency said last week.
Kenney calls on federalists to step up in Alberta separation debate
Cam Davies, leader of the Republican Party, has said he would comply with any investigation.
Registered political parties have access to Alberta’s list of electors but must safeguard the sensitive information and only use it for activities outlined in provincial law. Third-party organizations, such as the Centurion Project, are prohibited from accessing the list of electors.
Earlier this week, former premier Jason Kenney said he was considering legal action after it was revealed his address was displayed during one of Centurion’s virtual training sessions.
The prospect of foreign interference has been another concern as separatists’ efforts have ramped up over the past several months. The Alberta NDP argued this week that the alleged misuse of data – combined with foreign actors trying to undermine Canada’s interests by targeting Alberta’s separation campaign, as described in a new report − makes a potential independence referendum vulnerable to interference.
This week, Alberta separatists said they had surpassed the number of signatures needed to force a vote on secession this fall.
Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis on Wednesday said that prior to the breach, the RCMP informed the government that there had been no evidence the separatist movement has been subject to foreign interference.
Commanding Officer Trevor Daroux said in a statement that the Mounties avoid confirming comments made by third parties to protect investigations.
On Thursday, Ms. Smith’s office confirmed that her request for top-secret security clearance with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had been approved – a measure she initiated to receive briefings on foreign-interference threats to her province.
Ms. Smith had publicly complained in March that the RCMP and CSIS hadn’t been “forthcoming” with her government about security issues surrounding Alberta’s possible vote on secession.
“The Premier has now obtained her Top-Secret clearance in order to receive briefings on issues related to National Security,” Sam Blackett, Ms. Smith’s spokesperson, said in a one-sentence statement.
Mr. Blackett didn’t respond to a series of questions from The Globe about whether other government employees or ministers have received clearance. It’s also unclear how Ms. Smith will be able to use the information she receives in those briefings.
Mr. Ellis, the Public Safety Minister, told reporters on Thursday that he is also seeking national security clearance. He added that there’s a secure space in the legislature where Ms. Smith can receive top-secret briefings.
CSIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.