Elections Alberta says it could not investigate voter info breach sooner due to provincial law

Posted on May 15, 2026 by Sunny South News

By Zoe Mason
Southern Alberta Newspapers

An Alberta journalist says Elections Alberta knew about the alleged leak of millions of Albertans’ personal information for weeks before launching an investigation.

Elections Alberta says its hands were tied by legislative changes made last year.

In a post shared to Substack on April 30, The Line reporter Jen Gerson wrote she received a tip in late March that the Centurion Project may have access to the elector list. She submitted a complaint to Elections Alberta on April 1.

In an April 10 email Gerson shared online, Elections Alberta Commissioner Paula Hale responded that while the evidence Gerson produced was “compelling,” there was not sufficient information to indicate the data was not obtained through a legitimate channel.

As a result, Hale wrote there was not reasonable grounds to allow her to direct an investigation. Hale told Gerson no further action would be taken at that time.

Elections Alberta and the RCMP announced April 30 they are investigating the unauthorized acquisition of the electors list by the Centurion Project. The list, containing the personal information of millions of Albertans, was made public as a searchable database by the separatist group.

Elections Alberta says the Centurion Project obtained the list from the Republican Party of Alberta.

In a statement to Southern Alberta Newspapers, Elections Alberta spokeswoman Michelle Gurney said amendments made last year to the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act imposed much higher standards that must be reached to launch an investigation.

The act was updated to require Elections Alberta to have “reasonable grounds to believe an offence has occurred” before it can start an investigation. Gurney says this is a much higher standard than before the amendments.

“This is similar to the amount of evidence that, in a criminal matter, police would need to have to arrest someone,” she said.

Before the change, investigations could be initiated as long as Elections Alberta determined “grounds to warrant” an investigation.

 Heather Jenkins, press secretary to Justice Minister Mickey Amery, objects to any suggestion the amendments make launching investigations harder. Jenkins says Elections Alberta is responsible for applying election legislation as it conducts investigations.

“Any suggestion that Bill 54 prevents it from investigating these matters is completely inaccurate,” she said in a statement to Southern Alberta Newspapers.

If a complaint does not provide the evidence needed to initiate an investigation, Gurney says Elections Alberta monitors the situation and continues to gather information as it becomes available.

Elections Alberta is prohibited by law to comment on ongoing complaints or investigations, but Gurney says information was shared with the public about the use of the List of Electors as soon as it was permitted.

The voter list is subject to strict security measures under provincial law. Only political parties, MLAs, candidates and constituency organizations are allowed access.

Every copy of the list is seeded with fake names to allow authorities to investigate in the event of a security breach.

Premier responds

Premier Danielle Smith released a short statement on X on May 1.

“Protecting the personal information of Albertans is of the utmost importance, and those responsible should be held accountable under the law,” she said.

She says her government will not comment further until results of the Elections Alberta and RCMP investigations are released.

In a statement posted to X, Centurion Project leader David Parker said the group plans to fully comply with Election Alberta’s investigation.

He says volunteers used the database to find people they know, and the app has been shut down while they work to ensure its compliance with provincial and federal privacy laws.

Parker also shared a photo of a phonebook page with the accompanying caption: “Look everyone! I found names and addresses in a nefarious document called a phone book! Call the cops!”

Parker, founder of the conservative activist group Take Back Alberta, was previously fined more than $120,000 by Elections Alberta for various political financing violations. Those infractions included accepting funds from outside Alberta and making false statements in a finance report to the chief electoral officer.

Diane McLeod, commissioner of the independent Office of Information and Privacy, said in a statement May 1 her office is still working to obtain information regarding the leak, but it appears the matter falls outside her jurisdiction.

The Personal Information Protection Act does not apply to political parties, but it is unclear whether it applies to the Centurion Project.

McLeod says the breach highlights a troubling gap in Alberta’s privacy laws. She argues political parties should be subject to the act.

“What happened here is very serious,” said McLeod. “More than 2.9 million Albertans have had their personal information breached. For some of these individuals there is likely a real risk of significant harm given that their home address and phone numbers have been made public.”

She says individuals fleeing intimate partner violence and individuals working in law enforcement are particularly at risk due to the leak.

“My office has been calling for PIPA to be amended to include political parties for decades. During the PIPA review, which is still underway, we renewed the call for political parties to be made subject to the Act.”

The OIPC says it was informed on April 30 of the potential security breach by Elections Alberta.