Mitch Sylvestre speaks during an Alberta Prosperity Project protest at the Legislature in Edmonton in August.Amanda May Erickson/The Canadian Press
Canada’s new foreign influence watchdog has reached out to the Alberta Prosperity Project, one of the separatist groups that previously met with the U.S. State Department in its quest to steer the province to independence.
Mitch Sylvestre, chief executive officer of the Alberta Prosperity Project, said in an interview with The Globe and Mail that Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner Anton Boegman’s office contacted the organization by e-mail on Sept. 18, but the communication was only discovered on Tuesday in its junk mail folder.
The commissioner requested a response by Oct. 3. Mr. Sylvestre said Jeffrey Rath, legal counsel for the Alberta separatist group, replied to the commissioner after the e-mail was discovered. Mr. Rath is one of the individuals who attended the meetings with the State Department.
As The Globe first reported last week, Alberta separatist leaders went to Washington three times in 2025 to meet with the State Department and offered up key assets from the province’s resource portfolio, including access to fresh water and royalties on crude oil, in exchange for help transitioning to independence.
Mr. Boegman testified to the House of Commons procedure and House affairs committee on Tuesday about the new registry established by Ottawa to track people working on behalf of other countries to shape government policy or politics in Canada.
The Alberta Prosperity Project was one of about 60 groups or individuals his office contacted, according to the CBC.
“These are people who are engaged in the debate,” Mr. Boegman told journalists, according to the CBC. “We wanted to make sure that they were aware of what the requirements are of our law, so if they did meet those, that they could then register.”
Last month, Mr. Boegman said in a public statement that his office “is aware of concerns about foreign influence activities directed at the Alberta referendum.”
He said his office “proactively communicated” with relevant individuals and organizations “that may have a reporting requirement” under the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act, which took effect this summer.
Mr. Boegman also acknowledged, however, that meetings between Alberta separatists and U.S. government officials that took place before early August wouldn’t have to be logged in the new registry.
“The law just came into force on Aug. 4,” Mr. Boegman said, according to the CBC. “So there are things that may have taken place previously that are not applicable now. But, certainly, we’re focused on what’s taking place right now.”
In his response to the commissioner, Mr. Rath argued that the APP shouldn’t have to register with the watchdog, according to an e-mail Mr. Sylvestre read aloud to The Globe.
Mr. Rath wrote that the non-profit arm under which the APP operates “does not meet the definition of foreign influencer under the Act.”
“We have no arrangement to act on the behalf of any foreign principal,” Mr. Sylvestre said, reading an excerpt from the brief e-mail.
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Separately, Canada’s spy agency said the federal government is taking measures to safeguard Alberta’s referendum on separation. On Oct. 19, Albertans will vote on whether to remain within the federation or to commence a legal process to hold a binding vote on separation.
“Federal security agencies are working with provincial partners to safeguard the integrity of the referendum,” Canadian Security Intelligence Service spokesman Eric Balsam said in an e-mailed statement. “Any instance where a foreign state actor or proxy might seek to use covert or obfuscated means to divide Canadians, amplify false narratives, or otherwise deceptively interfere in domestic political processes would be of concern, and CSIS would investigate.”
Also, Mr. Boegman on Tuesday played down meagre registration numbers for the new federal registry.
A parliamentary committee heard Tuesday that only two registrations are visible on the foreign influence registry and that the office received another 30 submissions over the weekend.
Canada’s Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act entered into force Aug. 4 and Ottawa announced at the time that any people with pre-existing arrangements to work for “foreign principals” must register by Oct. 3 – the date given to the APP.
The federal government estimated in January that roughly 1,767 registrants would submit information annually, with an additional 54 new registrants each year.
Mr. Boegman told the House of Commons procedure and House affairs committee Tuesday that it’s still early days for the initiative.
“This is a brand-new registry,” he told MPs. “The requirements are brand new.”
Mr. Boegman said his office has focused on reaching out to different industries and sectors where people or organizations “may have a registration requirement.”
“I expect that as individuals understand more about the registry, that the numbers of registrants will increase.”
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As of Aug. 4, individuals or organizations that have an arrangement with a foreign principal to conduct activities intended to influence Canadian politics or government processes must register those arrangements or potentially face fines or criminal prosecution.
Conservative critic for democratic reform Michael Cooper called on Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree to act to ensure all who should register their foreign influence activities have done so.
“Registration is not optional. It is the law,” Mr. Cooper said. He added that the minister “must immediately ensure compliance is enforced, ensure those required to register do so and explain why no plan exists to address the 99 per cent who remain unregistered.”
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government passed the law to create a foreign-agent registry in June, 2024, and promised it would be set up within one year. Mr. Trudeau left politics in early 2025, and the Carney government’s delays in enacting the registry had raised concerns about diaspora groups being targeted by foreign interference.