In the spring of 2025, the separatist Republican Party of Alberta seemed to be making a push.
Months before a revival of separatist sentiment would put provincial politics in a headlock, the fledgling party released a five-point plan for Alberta independence, sent doorknockers into neighbourhoods and announced its new leader would run in a June byelection for a chance at a seat in the legislature.
In the first half of 2025, donors gave nearly $190,000 — a remarkable jump for a party that reported zero contributions the year before.
What’s more, the money came from fewer than 50 people, with more than half of them handing over $5,000, the maximum amount allowed under Alberta rules.
Who’s behind the sudden fundraising surge
A Star analysis has found that at least four of the donations appear to have been made by people not living in Alberta — a violation of election rules that require donors to legally reside in the province at the time they contribute. The four donors appear to have been based in British Columbia, where public records and online profiles suggest they know one another. In a surprising twist, two of the apparent donors used to work for the B.C. New Democrat Party.
The Alberta Republican Party leader previously had an ownership stake in the same polling
Republican Party leader Cameron Davies said that to his knowledge, anyone who contributed using an out of province address was “not permitted” to donate.
“As described on our donor form, donors must be an Alberta resident at the time of contribution,” he told the Star.
Elections Alberta said it does not comment on parties’ financial disclosure, but that it audits donation records to ensure donors meet residency requirements. “Political participants and their chief financial officers are responsible for knowing who they can accept contributions from, informing contributors of the rules and for reporting contributions to Elections Alberta,” a spokesperson said.
One of the max donors on the list that the Republican Party filed with Elections Alberta is Julianne Spicknell. The Star found a Julianne Spicknell at the doorstep of her house in Vancouver. Property records show she has co-owned the house there since late 2024, before the donation was made.
She initially denied making the donation but seemed uncertain, adding “I couldn’t say one way or another at the moment.” She did not answer followup questions from the Star.
A network of B.C. political operatives
Spicknell confirmed she has worked with a Zori Zapryanova, another name among those who gave $5,000 to the Republican Party of Alberta.
Zapryanova and Spicknell had previously worked for the same Vancouver credit union. Zapryanova also worked for the B.C. NDP, according to her LinkedIn account. That same social media profile says Zapryanova lives in Vancouver, and has worked for B.C.-based employers since 2013.
Reached by phone, Zapryanova did not directly answer questions about the donation or her residency, but did not deny contributing money to the Republican Party of Alberta. She did not answer followup questions sent by email.
Zapryanova used a downtown Vancouver address in 2023 when she co-signed a B.C. car loan. The other loan co-signee is Apollo Chung, who listed a different Vancouver address.
Chung’s name also appears on the Republican Party of Alberta’s donor list. He donated the maximum of $5,000.
Someone named Apollo Chung is a longtime figure in B.C. politics who has worked for three of the province’s parties in recent years, including the B.C. NDP, according to three sources who have worked for the party.
Apollo Chung was executive director of the Alberta Republican Party. He is also a longtime figure in B.C. politics who has worked for three of the province’s parties in recent years, including the B.C. NDP, according to sources.
Photo from archived version of Republican Party’s website
Before that, Chung worked in Toronto municipal politics. His name surfaced in a 2016 audit of a union representing Toronto city workers, which flagged that the local had paid Chung and two companies he apparently controlled more than $300,000 for call centre activities and tech support work. The Star was unable to reach Chung at the time. For this story, the Star sent him questions via a personal email and work email address, as well as a letter to the address tied to the Apollo Chung who appears on the 2023 B.C. car loan. He did not respond.
The Apollo Chung connection to the B.C. Conservatives
As recently as last April, Chung was also listed as executive director on the Alberta Republican Party’s website under the name “Paul Chung,” and described as a “political campaigner with over 15 years of experience in provincial and municipal politics across B.C., Ontario, and Alberta.”
Two sources confirmed the photo of Paul Chung that was posted to the party’s website depicts the same Apollo Chung that has a long history in B.C. politics.
He now works as director of operations for Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the newly elected leader of the B.C. Conservative party, according to a screenshot of the B.C. Legislature’s internal directory, provided by the B.C. NDP party.
When Findlay — a former minister of revenue under Stephen Harper — lost a federal re-election bid, she pivoted to provincial politics and ran for the leader of the B.C. Conservative party.
She narrowly won that contest this May and pledged her party to “faith, family, and freedom.” The same slogan, a common political refrain, is also displayed prominently on the Alberta Republican website.
Demonstrators waving Alberta flags gather near a truck displaying messages in support of Alberta sovereignty during a rally in Taber, Alberta in June.
Matthew Bruce THE CANADIAN PRESS
In early June 2026, Chung travelled with her to Calgary to attend a fundraising dinner for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, according to two sources also in attendance.
Findlay has become the most high-profile politician to extend an olive branch to a theoretical independent Alberta, telling the National Post she would maintain “economic relations” should the province vote to separate.
Findlay’s team did not directly answer questions about Chung’s role in her office and her statements on Alberta separatism. In an email to the Star, a spokesperson for Findlay stressed that she believes in federalism, and is a “Canadian, born and bred.”
The downtown Vancouver address listed on the 2023 B.C. car loan is also on the 2024 corporate registration of a firm called Little Mountain Strategy, which has three directors, including Chung and someone named Julianne Spicknell.
A fourth donor, who gave $3,000, has the same name as someone who works for the same employer as Zapryanova and owns a home in a Vancouver suburb, according to property records.
The Star searched public records and social media sites and could find no evidence that anyone using the same names as the four donors had lived in Alberta.
The Star also searched political donation databases, and found no one with the same names as Zapryanova, Spicknell and the fourth donor had made a political donation to a federal or provincial party before contributing to the Republican Party of Alberta. (Someone with the same name as Chung made two donations to the federal NDP in 2012.)
Former B.C. NDP strategist Bill Tieleman told the Star the apparent crossover between Alberta separatism and British Columbia politics is unexpected given that some of those involved used to work for progressive parties.
“The idea of some connection between that kind of a background and separatism in Alberta strikes me as extremely strange,” Tieleman said, referring to Chung and Zapryanova’s history with the NDP and other progressive organizations in British Columbia. He says he was aware of both during their time with the NDP, though knew neither well.
“You get people who switch parties, as we’ve seen federally recently,” he said. “But separatism is a very big ditch to get through.”
The donations dried up after the initial surge
In the months following the donations from Chung, Zapryanova, Spicknell and others who contributed the maximum amount, the Republican Party of Alberta’s fundraising ground to a halt. It reported just $6,000 in donations in the second half of 2025. And in the first quarter of 2026, it brought in just over $1,000.
Cameron Davies, leader of the Republican Party of Alberta
Jeff McIntosh THE CANADIAN PRESS
The Republican Party of Alberta was embroiled in a scandal this spring amid revelations that confidential voter data originally given to the party had been publicly posted online by a separatist group called the Centurion Project. Elections Alberta, the RCMP and Alberta’s privacy commissioner have launched investigations into the breach.
Davies, the party leader, is a longtime conservative political operative who was previously fined by Elections Alberta after a campaign finance investigation by the watchdog in 2017.
Davies also appears to be tied to a recent political scandal in B. C: In April, Elections BC levied a $4,500 fine against rival party BC United for commissioning a website that was critical of Findlay’s predecessor John Rustad and attempting to make it look like the work of disgruntled Conservatives — a move Rustad called “incredibly Machiavellian.”
After its investigation, the provincial election watchdog said that a company Davies founded, Sovereign North Strategies, helped make the website, firejohnrustad.ca.
Elections BC did not levy any penalties against Sovereign North.
When contacted for this story, Davies did not answer a question about the watchdog’s investigation.