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<\/p>\nThe pitch began with a prayer.<\/p>\n
On an afternoon in late January, Mitch Sylvestre, the leader of Alberta\u2019s most prominent separatist organization, gathered with three of his lieutenants in a boardroom not far from the executive hangars at the Calgary International Airport, where private jets shuttle in and out of the city away from prying eyes. <\/p>\n
It was a few hours before thousands of Albertans would gather near the city centre at a rally to launch the separatist campaign. But this meeting, convened behind closed doors a half-hour drive away, was invite only. <\/p>\n
The Alberta Prosperity Project chose the location to accommodate its guests, Republican political strategists from Michigan who helped Donald Trump win the state in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. <\/p>\n
The American delegation travelled to Calgary to sell them on software developed for Republicans to get out the vote \u2013 and how it could be used to wrench Alberta from Confederation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were young Christians. Capable, intelligent people,\u201d Mr. Sylvestre said. \u201cWe prayed before we started the meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Separatist leader Mitch Sylvestre was called to a meeting with Republican strategists in Calgary this year.<\/p>\n
Chris MacArthur\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n
Gregory Hartzler, a financial consultant to the Alberta Prosperity Project, attended the gathering and recalled the American attendees as affable fellows in casual clothes. \u201cThey could have gone and played nine \u2013 they would have been perfectly fine.\u201d <\/p>\n
David Parker, an organizer for Alberta separation, brokered the meeting and championed the software. Known as 10X Votes, it mines voter lists to identify communities of like-minded people that could be mobilized to potentially swing elections. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was blown away by what this can do,\u201d Mr. Parker told a separatist meeting in Edmonton in April, according to video footage of the presentation, where he demonstrated a version adapted for use in Alberta. <\/p>\n
He called it \u201cthe most effective way I have ever come across to win a campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n
Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n David Parker, speaking to separatists in 2023, brokered the meeting with the delegation from Michigan.Jude Brocke\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n His movement needed a boost. The separatist cause has never made a sustained push past 30 per cent support. <\/p>\n For Mr. Parker, the software was the path to victory \u2013 one that ultimately resulted in a massive privacy breach involving the sensitive personal data of nearly three million Albertans. The breach raised alarms inside Canada\u2019s security agencies, according to a classified document obtained by The Globe and Mail.<\/p>\n But Mr. Parker\u2019s embrace of the Michigan delegation is evidence of something else \u2013 a pattern: separatist factions in Alberta eager to engage the U.S. in their plans for secession, and American actors willing to assist, either privately or openly. <\/p>\n A Globe and Mail investigation has found that Republican political operatives were on the ground in Alberta this year to assist the separatist campaign in its bid to leave Canada, while harbouring their own aspirations for the province to secede. <\/p>\n The Globe also found that when Alberta separatist leaders went to Washington to meet with the U.S. State Department, they offered up key assets from the province\u2019s resource portfolio, including access to fresh water and royalties on crude oil, in exchange for help transitioning to independence. <\/p>\n Through interviews with The Globe on both sides of the border, people involved in politics, the corporate sector and Alberta\u2019s pursuit of separatism have described persistent efforts by figures in the U.S. administration and conservative political establishment to support groups seeking American expansionism and independence for Alberta. <\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n The Trump White House has demonstrated an interest in the separatist debate.Alex Brandon\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n In Washington, the Trump administration has quietly displayed detailed knowledge of Canadian secessionist history, indicating an interest in the outcome of the referendum Oct. 19, in which Albertans will decide whether to pursue independence. <\/p>\n At the same time, Alberta sovereignty has become a talking point for senior American leaders and influential conservative voices, giving legitimacy to a separatist cause that might otherwise have been a fringe provincial movement. <\/p>\n Among those U.S. voices are Drew Born and Drew Wierda, the Michigan-based founders of 10X Votes, whose families are well-known Republican royalty. <\/p>\n Mr. Wierda was one of the representatives in the meeting in Calgary, according to Mr. Hartzler, who identified him from a photograph. Meanwhile, Mr. Born, who hails from an influential and wealthy family of Republican donors, has openly called for the U.S. annexation of Alberta.<\/p>\n \u201cI pray daily this happens,\u201d Mr. Born wrote on social media in August, regarding Alberta separating from Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cMe too,\u201d Mr. Parker responded.<\/p>\n The Alberta separatist campaign got under way in January with a rally on the Calgary Stampede grounds, near the city\u2019s downtown.<\/p>\n Amir Salehi\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n A series of overtures<\/p>\n The separatists arrived in Washington, D.C., last year armed with a determination to leave Canada and a raft of ideas for how an independent Alberta could instead interlace its future fortunes with the United States.<\/p>\n New oil pipelines could be built to the Pacific that would travel through Washington state, evading the politically hostile terrain of British Columbia. The loonie holdings of Albertans could be converted at par into American greenbacks, perhaps paid for by offering the U.S. a royalty on Alberta crude, or even a slice of Alberta\u2019s land for a railroad to Alaska. Other repayment deals could be struck with the White House by offering Alberta resources in agriculture, forestry, mining and precious metals.<\/p>\n An independent Alberta could even offer fresh water to the U.S., Dennis Modry, a former Alberta heart surgeon who is co-founder of the Alberta Prosperity Project, said in an interview. <\/p>\n \u201cWe just brought up water as a possible issue. Does the U.S. need more water? Can Alberta provide some more water to them?\u201d said Dr. Modry. <\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n The Alberta separatists met with U.S. officials at the Washington headquarters of the State Department, which manages foreign policy.Mandel Ngan\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n Some of the ideas were contained in a document that, Dr. Modry said, put into writing \u201cthe potential benefits of Alberta sovereignty to the United States of America \u2013 and to Alberta.\u201d<\/p>\n That document was delivered to U.S. officials last year. The separatists met with them at the Harry S. Truman building, the headquarters of the State Department, on April 22, Sept. 29 and Dec. 16.<\/p>\n The meetings have been previously reported, but The Globe is revealing new details of the separatists\u2019 proposals.<\/p>\n Dr. Modry declined to share the document, calling it confidential, and would not say who on the U.S. side attended the meetings. <\/p>\n The gatherings at the State Department were arranged by Jeff Rath, a lawyer who has also helped lead the Alberta Prosperity Project. <\/p>\n Mr. Rath, however, called the document \u201cstupid\u201d and Dr. Modry \u201cdelusional\u201d for speaking about it. He said the conversations at the State Department did not include the proposals described in the document. <\/p>\n \u201cIf he\u2019s trying to do all of this to undermine where we\u2019re at in terms of the independence vote, this close to the referendum \u2013 he\u2019s doing a good job,\u201d Mr. Rath told The Globe. \u201cBecause none of that was discussed and it\u2019s completely ludicrous.\u201d<\/p>\n The talks, he said, were general in nature, \u201cabout the aspirations of Albertans and Alberta for independence. And that was it.\u201d<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Separatist leader Jeff Rath disputes Dennis Modry\u2019s characterization of the meetings in Washington.Jason Franson\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n At the same time, Mr. Rath believes the Albertans\u2019 overtures to Washington have won attention at the highest levels of American power. In January, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described a \u201cwealth of natural resources\u201d in Alberta, which he said had been trapped by domestic opposition to a Pacific pipeline. <\/p>\n \u201cI think we should let them come down into the U.S., and Alberta is a natural partner for the U.S. They have great resources,\u201d he told conservative podcaster Jack Posobiec.<\/p>\n For Mr. Rath, it was a sign. That exact topic \u2013 a pipeline through the U.S. \u2013 had been raised in the Washington meetings.<\/p>\n \u201cSo obviously, the people we were meeting with are briefing directly to the cabinet level. There\u2019s a huge amount of support for Alberta independence at the highest levels of this administration,\u201d Mr. Rath said.<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Separatist leaders saw encouragement in remarks by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, at left with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.Jacquelyn Martin\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n Across meetings and subsequent correspondence with figures in the U.S. administration \u2013 which continued into recent weeks \u2013 Mr. Rath said he has been convinced that \u201cAlberta\u2019s relationship with the U.S. would be vastly improved by independence.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Rath and Dr. Modry said they neither advocated in Washington for Alberta to become the 51st state, nor were presented with such an offer by administration figures. The constitutional and political obstacles to statehood are so monolithic that it is, at the moment, a virtual impossibility.<\/p>\n Nor did they strike any agreements on the proposals they brought to the U.S. <\/p>\n But Dr. Modry\u2019s proposals suggested numerous other ways to thrust an independent Alberta deep into the sphere of American influence, from the very first days of separation from Canada.<\/p>\n Alberta could seek U.S. help in its transition to become an independent country, Dr. Modry said. That could include a swap line or line of credit to finance the shift. <\/p>\n Converting Albertans\u2019 cash holdings to the U.S. dollar would leave the government of an independent Alberta in further debt.<\/p>\n To make Washington whole, Dr. Modry suggested new oil export pipelines through the U.S., perhaps built with a royalty payable to the U.S. on barrels moved south. Such a deal would upend the traditional structure of petroleum extraction, in which royalties flow to the owner of the resource.<\/p>\n It might also be possible to provide a right of way for a rail line to Alaska, an idea Mr. Trump had endorsed during his first administration that never got off the ground. <\/p>\n \u201cOil royalties or land access for that rail line \u2013 there\u2019s all kinds of different permutations and combinations to repay that debt,\u201d Dr. Modry said.<\/p>\n A White House official declined comment on the meetings. \u201cAdministration officials meet with a number of civil society groups,\u201d the official said. \u201cNo support or commitments were conveyed.\u201d <\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n The meetings in D.C. were held against the backdrop of a trade dispute between Canada and the United States.JEFF KOWALSKY \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n With Mr. Trump in the Oval Office, U.S. policy is set \u2013 and reset \u2013 at dizzying speed. But outside of last year\u2019s meetings in Washington, a desire to see Alberta secede has emerged from a broad array of figures in and around the Trump administration.<\/p>\n Doug Wilson, an influential Christian nationalist pastor who has been invited to the Pentagon by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, said earlier this year that Alberta independence would be \u201cwonderful.\u201d Mr. Wilson leads a conservative Reformed Christian denomination that has several churches in Alberta \u2013 in Coaldale, Cochrane and Grande Prairie \u2013 some of them led by pastors who have expressed support for secession.<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Doug Wilson of Moscow, Idaho, preaches a brand of Christian nationalism that was once considered fringe, but has attracted attention in Trump circles.Margaret Albaugh\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n At lower political levels, too, Republicans have taken notice. In mid-May, Stockwell Day travelled to Oklahoma to meet with state lawmakers who invited him to speak with them. Among the topics they wanted to hear about was Alberta separatism and the possibility of American annexation. Mr. Day, who once led the Canadian Alliance and held cabinet positions in both Alberta and Ottawa, told them he saw no chance of success for either outcome.<\/p>\n The meeting nonetheless persuaded him that American continental expansion has become a subject of genuine consideration in Republican circles.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s serious interest in the U.S.,\u201d Mr. Day told The Globe. That may not mean a Machiavellian plot to take over Canadian territory, but \u201cthere will always be those who look to capitalize on disruption.\u201d <\/p>\n In Alberta, meanwhile, parts of the separatist movement have frowned on attempts to cozy up with the U.S., particularly since polls show the idea of annexation is broadly unpopular. <\/p>\n Michael Binnion, a Calgary oil and gas executive who has been an important financial backer of Alberta independence, has openly rejected the Washington outreach by Dr. Modry and Mr. Rath. <\/p>\n \u201cThe only people that we\u2019ve seen go down to the United States are not very credible people here in Alberta,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n He added: \u201cJeff Rath is a lot better at separating separatists than he is at separating.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Binnion, who is personal friends with Chris Wright, the U.S. energy secretary, said he has seen no evidence of American interest in Alberta sovereignty, \u201cother than to observe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere might be some fringe groups in America that are thinking we should encourage this. But I can\u2019t believe it\u2019s mainstream.\u201d<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Calgary oil and gas executive and separatist financial backer Michael Binnion said he\u2019s seen no evidence of American interest \u2018other than to observe.\u2019Chris Bolin\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n Still, those who currently hold power in the U.S. have privately shown a grasp of past Canadian independence efforts that suggests a concerted effort to understand what is happening.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, a U.S. energy executive was chatting with an administration official. The executive mentioned Canadian concern that the U.S. was going to \u201cengage in mischief-making\u201d around Alberta secession. <\/p>\n The response from the official, the executive said in an interview, was an immediate reference to American conduct during the decade when Quebec came within a breath of voting for secession. <\/p>\n \u201cThey said, \u2018oh, I guess they didn\u2019t have a problem when the Clinton administration interfered two times very directly,\u2019\u201d said the executive, whom The Globe is not naming because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.<\/p>\n In 1995, ahead of the referendum, then-president Bill Clinton spoke in Canada\u2019s Parliament in defence of Canadian unity. In 1999, he came to Quebec and decried the notion of \u201cpretending that we can cut all the cords that bind us to the rest of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think more and more people will say, \u2018This federalism, it\u2019s not such a bad idea,\u2019\u201d Mr. Clinton said, a speech that is now a distant memory even for most Canadians.<\/p>\n The executive did not understand those comments as a suggestion the administration intended to interfere. Nonetheless, it was a surprising demonstration, the executive said, of \u201cinstitutional knowledge in Washington about Canada and these types of sovereignty-related issues.\u201d<\/p>\n Months ahead of Quebec\u2019s 1995 referendum on independence, U.S. president Bill Clinton spoke to the House of Commons about Canada\u2019s achievements and cross-border co-operation. But \u2018we recognize,\u2019 he added, \u2018that your political future is, of course, entirely for you to decide.\u2019<\/p>\n Andy Clark\/Reuters; Fred Chartrand and Ryan Remiorz\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n Indeed, Mr. Trump \u201cwould welcome Alberta with open arms,\u201d said Drew Horn, a former special forces commander in the U.S. Army who held a national intelligence post in Mr. Trump\u2019s first administration. He also led the Greenland Policy Coordination Committee, a task force previously created by the National Security Council with the ambition of acquiring Greenland. Mr. Horn was not present for the Albertans\u2019 meetings in Washington, but remains close to the Trump administration in its second term.<\/p>\n The province has been a subject of discussion \u2013 although it is not a top priority, particularly as war in Iran consumes White House attention, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey also don\u2019t want to start up an additional battle with the Canadian leadership by looking like they were trying to interfere,\u201d Mr. Horn said.<\/p>\n Still, he added, \u201cthe president likes to cut deals. And so obviously the oil and resources wealth of Alberta \u2013 if that was worked into the equation \u2013 I think there\u2019s a lot of things that could be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Ottawa has designated a proposed pipeline to the West Coast from Alberta a project of national interest, in a bid to accelerate regulatory approvals.<\/p>\n Jeff McIntosh\/The Canadian Press; Todd Korol\/Reuters<\/p>\n \u2018There is no secrecy\u2019<\/p>\n One of the key figures behind the Michigan software company has expressed strong views on Alberta.<\/p>\n On July 1, Mr. Born wrote on social media: \u201cOn this Canada Day, I hope this is the last year Alberta is part of Canada.\u201d He has also called for U.S. annexation of the province.<\/p>\n A hunter, outdoorsman and commercial real estate agent in Grand Rapids, Mr. Born is the stepson of J.C. Huizenga, a wealthy Republican donor and founder of National Heritage Academies, a network of conservative charter schools in the U.S. <\/p>\n Mr. Wierda is the nephew of Erik Prince, who founded and ran the private military contractor Blackwater before it was sold to investors in 2010, and Betsy DeVos, the education secretary during Mr. Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n Drew Born, one of the founders of 10X Votes, is a member of a prominent Republican family and has openly advocated for the U.S. annexation of Alberta.<\/p>\n Rumble, X\/@drewwborn<\/p>\n Mr. Born\u2019s X feed includes a mix of pro-Trump, anti-Canada and pro-separatist memes.<\/p>\n X\/@drewwborn<\/p>\n The strategy behind 10X Votes is simple, but powerful, the creators say. If MAGA conservatives can identify those within their ranks who aren\u2019t regular voters and get them to the polls, they can generate better election results. It is an age-old get-out-the-vote strategy, but with a technological twist.<\/p>\n By downloading vast tracts of data from state voter lists and pairing them with other data sets, such as demographic information, religious affiliation, or even known magazine subscriptions, 10X Votes gives its users a way to crawl the voter list for people who would likely vote Republican.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have 783,000 hunting licences sold roughly every year in the state of Michigan, 330,000 of them don\u2019t vote,\u201d Mr. Born told a meeting of Republicans in 2024, according to a video of the proceeding, adding that there were 1.7 million conservatives in the state who didn\u2019t vote regularly.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what we did is we took that list of 1.7 million people and we made it public for you guys \u2013 semi-public.\u201d <\/p>\n If every Michigan Republican found 10 like-minded contacts who weren\u2019t regular voters and got them to the polls, it would be like multiplying their vote by 10, hence the name.<\/p>\n Mr. Born said even prominent Republicans such as Pete Hoekstra, former chair of the Michigan Republican Party and current U.S. ambassador to Canada, had members of his family who weren\u2019t voting, according to the software. <\/p>\n \u201cWe need our people to turn out and we\u2019ll never lose again,\u201d Mr. Born said. <\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n The Michigan state legislature in Lansing. The 10X Votes project was created in Michigan with the goal of swinging elections in Republicans’ favour.Robert Killips\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Pete Hoekstra was chair of the Michigan Republican Party before he was U.S. ambassador to Canada. Mr. Hoekstra said he has \u2018zero involvement with 10X Votes in Canada.\u2019Greg Locke\/Reuters<\/p>\n In addition to the two founders, the face of 10X Votes in Michigan is a man named Lance Griffin, a political organizer who travels the state getting people to adopt the software.<\/p>\n At a Republican campaign event in October, 2024, Mr. Griffin explained the data mining strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can put the street on which you live into our database and we\u2019ll show you all the Republicans on that street who haven\u2019t been voting.\u201d <\/p>\n The technology is as much an ideological tool as it is a get-out-the-vote application. Mr. Griffin told a Christian podcast in Michigan this year that the 10X software is being called upon to combat what he sees as an outsider threat, including a rising Muslim population in the state. <\/p>\n He told a Republican Party delegate training session in southwest Michigan in April that support beyond their base isn\u2019t needed to win elections.<\/p>\n \u201cWe welcome them if they wanna vote for us, but we don\u2019t need non-Christians, independents, and minorities in order to win,\u201d reads a slide from Mr. Griffin\u2019s presentation that was posted online. <\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n In Michigan, Lance Griffin has promoted 10X as a way to rally the Republicans’ Christian base.Rumble<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n The 2024 presidential race in Michigan was a success for Mr. Trump, which the designers of 10X Votes used to promote their software.KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n Justin Mendoza, executive director of Progress Michigan, a left-leaning advocacy group with ties to the Democrats, said 10X Votes helped Mr. Trump win the state in 2024. <\/p>\n The software mostly flew under the radar. And originally, Mr. Mendoza said in an interview, his organization didn\u2019t give it much thought. \u201cNow I think the answer is we should have been worried about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Born would not answer questions about the company or its role in Alberta when contacted by The Globe.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no secrecy,\u201d Mr. Born said. \u201cWe\u2019re just not talking to the press.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked to discuss Alberta separatism, he refused.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to hang up the phone. You have a wonderful, blessed day.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Griffin also exudes an anti-Canadian bent. His social media posts include AI-generated pictures of Mr. Trump writing \u201cDontario\u201d on a map of Ontario, and an image of a can of ginger ale renamed America Dry.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m an open book,\u201d Mr. Griffin told a conservative podcast in September, where he was touting 10X Votes ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.<\/p>\n \u201cWilling to chat with anybody \u2013 anytime.\u201d<\/p>\n The Globe reached out to Mr. Griffin multiple times to discuss the group\u2019s interest in Alberta. He did not respond.<\/p>\n Lance Griffin, a political organizer who is one of the key players involved in 10X Votes, has taken an anti-Canadian stance on social media, including sharing AI-generated images like these.<\/p>\n Facebook<\/p>\n \u2018There\u2019s something really wrong with this\u2019<\/p>\n Mr. Parker made a name for himself over the years organizing Alberta\u2019s right-leaning voters. <\/p>\n He marshalled support for Jason Kenney\u2019s bid to oust Rachel Notley, the former New Democratic Party leader who ended 44 years of conservative rule in Alberta in 2015. He then worked to shove aside Mr. Kenney as premier and leader of the United Conservative Party by turning anger from the right over vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions into activism.<\/p>\n After that, he helped revive Danielle Smith\u2019s once-moribund political career, elevating her from has-been to Premier by rallying an army of activists, including Mr. Sylvestre.<\/p>\n Now, his ultimate goal is freeing the province from the confines of Canada. Mr. Parker\u2019s sovereign Alberta would be rooted in Christianity, steeped in traditional family values and governed by the belief that individual rights are sacred.<\/p>\n And so he arranged the meeting between 10X Votes and the Alberta Prosperity Project, according to Mr. Sylvestre.<\/p>\n Mr. Parker said in a podcast that his ties to the men behind the 10X technology stretch back to the fall of 2024, when he was working on a speaking tour for influential far-right podcaster and power broker Tucker Carlson.<\/p>\n When Mr. Carlson\u2019s arena tour stopped in Grand Rapids, Mr. Parker went to bat for 10X Votes. <\/p>\n \u201cI used every piece of social capital that I had with Tucker to get him to endorse it on stage,\u201d Mr. Parker told separatists in April.<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n U.S. conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson speaks at the Turning Point Action USA conference in West Palm Beach, Fla., in July, 2023.GIORGIO VIERA\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The Canadian has tried to take a healthy dose of credit for Donald Trump carrying Michigan in the 2024 election.<\/p>\n \u201cJust that single endorsement resulted in 86,000 people who are historically non-voters voting in that election,\u201d Mr. Parker told an Alberta podcast this spring. \u201cAnd if you go through the data for Michigan, that\u2019s almost the victory margin for Trump. It was a little bit higher.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I was massively impressed with what they\u2019d done. And I wanted to bring that idea and that methodology to Alberta.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Parker did most of the talking at the January meeting between 10X Votes and the Alberta Prosperity Project, according to Mr. Sylvestre and Mr. Hartzler.<\/p>\n \u201cHis pitch was: \u2018This is a great idea and it will get us over the hump,\u2019\u201d Mr. Sylvestre said.<\/p>\n Mr. Sylvestre liked that independence volunteers could use the program to quickly identify friends and family who supported separation, rather than gauge support by knocking on strangers\u2019 doors. <\/p>\n The traditional campaign method is time-consuming and, Mr. Sylvestre told The Globe, does not necessarily yield accurate results because some Albertans are afraid to disclose their support for secession on the porch. It also leaves volunteers vulnerable to verbal abuse, he said.<\/p>\n But the meeting made him uncomfortable.<\/p>\n \u201cAll somebody had to tell me was they flew in from the U.S. on a private jet to talk to me and our group,\u201d he said. \u201cAll the bells are screaming and ringing in my ear. \u2018Oh, what\u2019s happening here. Why are you here?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Mr. Sylvestre said he was uneasy during the meeting with the Americans, wondering, \u2018Why are you here?\u2019Chris MacArthur\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n At the meeting, the 10X Votes delegation demonstrated how the program works, but Mr. Sylvestre and Mr. Hartzler said they could not answer a key question: How would 10X Votes propagate a database in anticipation of an Alberta referendum on separation?<\/p>\n Both said Mr. Parker proposed using the Alberta Prosperity Project\u2019s list of supporters. The database exploded from about 50,000 names to 250,000 in the 10 days after Mark Carney led the federal Liberal Party to victory in April, 2025, Mr. Sylvestre said. <\/p>\n The meeting ended without a resolution, but Mr. Sylvestre, who had privacy concerns about the software, later told Mr. Parker that the Alberta Prosperity Project\u2019s list was off the table.<\/p>\n \u201cHe yelled at me because I wouldn\u2019t commit all of my membership to be on that list of his,\u201d Mr. Sylvestre said of Mr. Parker. \u201cAnd I said: \u2018Not a chance in hell you\u2019re getting my list.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I know that this is not right,\u201d Mr. Sylvestre said in an interview. \u201cThere\u2019s something really wrong with this.\u201d <\/p>\n In response to questions from The Globe and Mail about the Michigan Republicans\u2019 involvement in the separatist campaign, the U.S. ambassador said in an e-mail: \u201cAlberta\u2019s future is for the province of Alberta to decide.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Mr. Hoekstra is familiar with the 10X Votes software, \u201cI have zero involvement with 10X Votes in Canada,\u201d he said. \u201cIts effectiveness as a campaign tool maybe has brought it to the attention of campaigns around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n While support for separatism has never made a sustained push past 30 per cent in Alberta, there are divisions within the independence movement over the idea of American support. Some separatists back the province being a 51st state, while others want sovereignty.<\/p>\n Artur Widak\/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect; Jason Franson\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n The Centurion controversy<\/p>\n A few weeks after the meeting with the Americans, Mr. Parker launched the Centurion Project, a new political organization that used the 10X Votes technology, adjusted for Alberta. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Centurion Project is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the coming months. We have the backing, we have the momentum, and now we have the tool,\u201d he wrote on social media in April.<\/p>\n \u201cUsing this tool is going to transform how politics is done, I think, in the Western world,\u201d he said in a podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cBut for now, Alberta.\u201d<\/p>\n The tool was a scaled-down version of what 10X created in Michigan. It was intuitive, and once approved, users could search for Albertans using partial names or fragments of addresses. Queries that did not yield precise matches would instead show the first 50 possible results. Included were legal first and last names, addresses, electoral divisions and polling subdivisions. A search of a partial address would reveal the names of all eligible voters living at that residence.<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Elections Alberta keeps a database of eligible voters, and where they live, to make sure they have their say at the right polling station. Privacy laws protect that data.James Maclennan\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n Under Mr. Parker\u2019s leadership, the Centurion Project planned to spread word of the tool in a series of town hall meetings and online demonstrations.<\/p>\n During show-and-tell sessions posted online, the Centurion Project organizers revealed home addresses for former premiers Mr. Kenney and Ms. Notley \u2013 two politicians despised by ardent separatists \u2013 as a way to tout the software\u2019s power.<\/p>\n After identifying people they knew from the database, users filled out a short survey about their acquaintances\u2019 views on separation. They were then responsible for making sure anyone they flagged as pro-independence showed up at the polls on referendum day.<\/p>\n Mr. Parker encouraged separatists to enlist like-minded people to sign up for the Centurion Project, and identify more potential supporters, generating a multiplying effect.<\/p>\n But he was vague about the source of the database in an April text exchange with The Globe. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a collection of sources. You can rent it off Canada Post, but they were more expensive,\u201d he said, claiming the Centurion Project\u2019s information cost 11 cents per name. \u201cI actually feel like I got a great deal.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time, Mr. Parker refused to name the technology provider. \u201cI\u2019m the exclusive licence holder in Canada,\u201d he said, adding the identity of the software vendor was shielded by a non-disclosure agreement.<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Mr. Parker was vague about how the Centurion Project database was created.Jude Brocke\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n During online demonstrations of the new Alberta tool, the Centurion Project representatives claimed the data was publicly available, no different than information contained in the phone book. They also insisted the data was secure.<\/p>\n It was not.<\/p>\n The Globe and Mail, which registered for the Centurion Project using a company e-mail address, discovered a security vulnerability that gave users access to the main directory that the whole system was based on. <\/p>\n It was, according to The Globe\u2019s analysis, the master list of eligible voters for the province \u2013 or very close to one.<\/p>\n As The Globe first reported in April, the Centurion Project\u2019s database contained names and addresses for 2,957,857 Albertans, once apparent duplicate entries were removed.<\/p>\n By way of comparison, Elections Alberta\u2019s list of electors tallied 2,966,192 eligible voters across the province in May, 2025, when the head count was last updated.<\/p>\n Further, The Globe found the Centurion Project\u2019s underlying database contained a trove of highly sensitive personal information beyond what casual users could easily access, including middle names, unique electoral identification numbers and 2,083,175 phone numbers.<\/p>\n After being informed The Globe had accessed the Centurion Project\u2019s underlying database, Mr. Parker continued to insist the system\u2019s security measures were impenetrable.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople running this have better security than the Canadian government,\u201d Mr. Parker said in an interview. \u201cNo way that it can be taken.\u201d<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n When Elections Alberta distributes the voter list to political parties, it places false names in each one as a way to determine if an organization improperly shares the data.James Maclennan\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n The Globe first reported its findings April 30, just as Elections Alberta alleged in court that the Centurion Project had improperly accessed the province\u2019s list of electors. <\/p>\n In Alberta, registered political parties are allowed access to provincial voter lists to identify supporters, but third-party organizations such as the Centurion Project are not. <\/p>\n It was a massive privacy breach \u2013 one of the largest that the province had ever seen.<\/p>\n Malicious actors could use the tool, and the data contained in it, to find sensitive personal details for private citizens, police officers, judges, politicians and public figures.<\/p>\n When Elections Alberta provides the list to political parties, it sprinkles fake names into each database as a form of watermark. According to documents filed in court, Elections Alberta determined, by searching the salted names, that the Centurion Project derived its data from a voter list provided to the Republican Party of Alberta, a pro-secession party, in June, 2025. <\/p>\n The leader of that party, Cameron Davies \u2013 a long-time associate of Mr. Parker\u2019s \u2013 declined to comment. Mr. Parker did not acknowledge multiple attempts to reach him for comment. <\/p>\n In May, Elections Alberta would not say whether it found the same security vulnerability that The Globe discovered.<\/p>\n In a letter sent May 12, Elections Alberta investigator Ryan Tebb asked The Globe for its methodology, \u201cto allow us to understand the analysis that you and\/or the Globe and Mail completed within Centurion\u2019s database.\u201d<\/p>\n The Globe did not respond to the request. <\/p>\n Elections Alberta has since declined to answer questions about its investigation. <\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n In Edmonton, the data breach caused immediate alarm among people who feared for their safety. Canada\u2019s intelligence agency was also concerned, according to a document obtained by The Globe.Daphn\u00e9 LEMELIN \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n The data breach had real-world consequences. Edmonton city councillor Aaron Paquette said his phone rang with calls from constituents scared for their safety, including a woman who feared her violent ex would learn where she was now living.<\/p>\n \u201cShe had to move immediately with her kids because she had been essentially hiding,\u201d Mr. Paquette said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe worked with the landlord in order to make sure that she wasn\u2019t going to be punished for breaking her lease.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he is worried the data is still out there. <\/p>\n Canada\u2019s security agencies were also concerned, according to an intelligence brief on May 21 from the federal Integrated Threat Assessment Centre, a specialized unit that works with CSIS to assess national security threats.<\/p>\n The document, obtained by The Globe through access to information and marked \u201cSecret \/ Canadian Eyes Only,\u201d is heavily redacted but indicates alarm at the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cThere remains a period of heightened sensitivity and awareness as public officials, law enforcement and other stakeholders work to understand the full extent of the incident and its potential consequences,\u201d the brief said.<\/p>\n The January rally in Calgary was the first big separatist event of the year. A financial consultant for the Alberta Prosperity Project remembers seeing one of the Michigan strategists in attendance.<\/p>\n Amir Salehi\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n \u2018We will have international recognition\u2019<\/p>\n After the meeting near the airport in late January, the separatist leaders made their way to a large building on the Calgary Stampede grounds near downtown, where more than 3,000 people attended the first big pro-independence rally of the year.<\/p>\n Would-be sovereigntists filled rows of folding chairs; some arrived wrapped in the blue Alberta flag, while others wore Alberta hats and T-shirts.<\/p>\n Mr. Hartzler recalls spotting one of the Republican strategists from Michigan at the event.<\/p>\n Days later, Mr. Carney and Ms Smith reacted publicly to reports of the separatists\u2019 meetings in Washington, D.C. Both leaders said the U.S. must \u201crespect Canadian sovereignty.\u201d <\/p>\n British Columbia Premier David Eby went further, calling the separatists\u2019 State Department meetings last year \u201ctreason.\u201d <\/p>\n Ms. Smith, though, moved forward with her promise to supporters that she would call a referendum. <\/p>\n In May, as many in the province were still seething about the Centurion breach, she confirmed in a televised address that the government would ask residents to vote on whether they want to stay in Canada or start the legal process to hold a second, binding referendum on secession.<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a>Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Premier Danielle Smith confirmed this past May that a referendum would go ahead.<\/p>\n By late summer, as they sought to mobilize voters head of the Oct. 19 referendum, some separatist factions were touting the prospect of American support for an independent Alberta. <\/p>\n Dennis Kalma, a member of a self-appointed group called the Alberta transition council, formed to devise a path to sovereignty following a referendum win, suggested at a town hall in Red Deer that he had some inside knowledge. <\/p>\n \u201cWe will have international recognition, particularly from the Americans,\u201d Mr. Kalma told the audience. \u201cI personally think \u2013 and I have reasons to believe it that I can\u2019t speak to \u2013 that we will have almost immediate recognition after winning a referendum, from the Americans. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd probably about five or six other countries. And we will see those people say, \u2018yep, we recognize you.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n South of the border, some Republican lawmakers are doing nothing to hide the U.S. interest in Alberta. <\/p>\n During an interview on the right-wing cable network Newsmax at the end of August, Republican congressman Andy Harris wondered aloud why the U.S. wouldn\u2019t have designs on the province.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact of the matter is Alberta is talking about seceding from Canada. We should make it the 51st state,\u201d Mr. Harris said. \u201cTremendous oil reserves there.\u201d<\/p>\n With reports from Stephanie Chambers and Chen Wang<\/p>\n Alberta\u2019s decision: More from The Globe and MailThe Decibel podcast<\/p>\n Why has Alberta\u2019s Remain side had so much trouble raising money<\/a> to get its message out? Reporters Marieke Walsh and Matthew Scace spoke with The Decibel<\/a> about who\u2019s who in the federalist and separatist camps, and the rules they must abide by. Subscribe for more episodes.<\/a><\/p>\n Alberta in context<\/p>\n In Alberta and Quebec, country with elbows up faces threats on two fronts<\/a><\/p>\n Foreign actors exploiting Alberta separatist debate to stoke discord, researchers say<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/resizer\/v2\/KTPGRES4EFFJ3PYK2KVKXSYF2E.JPG?auth=2d4be16d56ac4310db693a52a318048d95c0eb8faad96153308983e11c9b1ee9&width=600&height=400&quality=80&smart=true\")
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