⁠U.S. Republican Operatives Were on the Ground Helping Alberta Separatists, Globe Investigation Finds

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A political fight that had largely been framed as an internal Canadian debate has acquired a significant cross-border dimension. An investigation published by The Globe and Mail on October 3 reports that Republican political organizers from Michigan travelled to Alberta and met with figures involved in the province’s independence movement, bringing with them campaign technology originally developed to mobilize conservative voters in the United States.

The investigation connects those meetings to a much wider story involving voter data, contacts with U.S. officials and competing visions inside Alberta’s separatist movement itself. Some participants sought closer American involvement, while others became uncomfortable with what was unfolding. U.S. officials, meanwhile, have repeatedly denied making commitments to support Alberta independence. With Albertans preparing to vote on a separation-related referendum question on October 19, those distinctions matter.

A Private Calgary Meeting Brought American Organizers Into the Campaign

The Globe reports that the most direct encounter took place in late January, when leaders of the Alberta Prosperity Project gathered near Calgary International Airport with political strategists from Michigan. Mitch Sylvestre, a prominent figure in the Alberta independence movement, and financial consultant Gregory Hartzler were among those present. According to their accounts, the American visitors demonstrated campaign technology known as 10X Votes and discussed how its organizing model could be adapted for Alberta. David Parker, an Alberta political organizer who has become deeply involved in the independence movement, brokered the meeting.

The encounter is significant because it moves the story beyond sympathetic comments made from across the border. According to the investigation, American political organizers were physically present in Alberta discussing campaign tactics with people trying to advance separation. The Globe identified 10X Votes co-founder Drew Wierda as one of the participants. Sylvestre later described being uneasy about the involvement of Americans in such a sensitive Canadian political campaign, illustrating that even within the separatist movement there was no unified view about how far outside assistance should go.

10X Votes Was Created to Turn Political Networks Into Votes

The technology brought to Alberta was not originally designed for Canadian politics. 10X Votes describes itself as a relational-organizing platform built to help conservatives identify friends, relatives and neighbours who share their views but do not reliably vote. The basic idea is straightforward: instead of asking volunteers to persuade strangers, organizers encourage them to find politically compatible people already inside their personal networks and make sure those people participate.

The organization became active in Michigan Republican politics, where its own website promotes finding “10 friends who don’t vote.” Republican organizations in Michigan have also hosted 10X Votes presentations. The backdrop was a closely fought state: Donald Trump officially received 2,816,636 Michigan votes in the 2024 presidential election, compared with 2,736,533 for Kamala Harris, a difference of roughly 80,000 votes. Supporters of 10X Votes have credited relational organizing with improving Republican turnout, although attributing a statewide election result to one campaign tool would go beyond the available evidence.

David Parker Saw a Model He Wanted to Bring to Alberta

Parker’s connection with the Michigan organizers appears to have begun before the 2026 referendum campaign. According to The Globe, Parker said publicly that he became interested in 10X Votes during the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign and later wanted to transfer its organizing methods to Alberta. At the January Calgary meeting, witnesses told the newspaper that Parker enthusiastically promoted the system as a way to identify independence supporters more efficiently than traditional door-to-door canvassing.

That enthusiasm eventually produced tension with other separatist organizers. The Globe reports that one proposal involved using the Alberta Prosperity Project’s own supporter database to help populate the system. Sylvestre rejected that idea because of privacy concerns and said he refused to hand over the organization’s membership list. That disagreement is important context. The American technology was not simply imposed on one unified independence campaign. Alberta’s separatist organizations contain different leaders, organizations and strategies, and some participants were clearly uncomfortable with the data-driven approach being promoted.

The Centurion Project Turned the Technology Into a Much Bigger Privacy Story

Weeks after the Calgary meeting, Parker launched the Centurion Project, which The Globe reported used technology adapted from the 10X Votes model. Users could search for Albertans and identify acquaintances believed to support independence, creating a network designed to mobilize potential voters. The system soon became controversial for an entirely different reason: the underlying database closely matched Alberta’s official List of Electors and contained information involving almost three million people.

Elections Alberta confirmed on April 30 that the Centurion Project had made unauthorized use of a copy of the List of Electors issued to the Republican Party of Alberta. The election agency obtained an emergency Court of King’s Bench injunction prohibiting further access and ordered the Centurion Project and the party to identify people who had obtained or viewed the data. Alberta’s privacy commissioner subsequently opened a formal investigation. The commissioner said the allegations raised questions about whether personal information had been collected, used, disclosed and protected in compliance with provincial privacy law.

For Some Albertans, the Data Exposure Had Immediate Consequences

The scale of the database made the controversy more than a dispute about sophisticated campaign tactics. Alberta’s privacy commissioner said the information potentially affected more than 2.9 million people and warned that disclosure of voter information can create particular risks for people in sensitive occupations, victims of domestic violence and others whose home addresses may need to remain protected. Elections Alberta said it heard from Albertans who were frightened about what the exposure could mean for their personal safety.

The Globe documented one particularly stark example through Edmonton councillor Aaron Paquette. He said a constituent who had been hiding from a violent former partner became afraid that the released information could reveal her location and moved with her children. The newspaper also reported that the federal Integrated Threat Assessment Centre circulated a classified assessment indicating concern while authorities tried to determine the scope and potential consequences of the incident. That does not establish that foreign actors obtained or misused the database, but it shows why the breach attracted attention well beyond ordinary provincial politics.

Separatist Leaders Had Already Been Taking Their Case to Washington

The Michigan connection emerged against an existing pattern of contact between Alberta separatists and the United States. The Financial Times reported in January that Alberta Prosperity Project representatives had met U.S. State Department officials three times in Washington beginning in 2025. Reuters subsequently reported those contacts while covering Canadian concerns about sovereignty. The group also discussed the possibility of American financial assistance that could help an independent Alberta through the economic disruption associated with separation.

The Globe’s October investigation added detail about what some separatist figures say they wanted Washington to consider. Alberta Prosperity Project co-founder Dennis Modry described ideas involving U.S. credit support, new energy corridors, oil-related payments and even potential discussions about Alberta’s fresh-water resources. Jeff Rath, another prominent figure involved in the Washington outreach, strongly disputed Modry’s description and said those specific proposals were not discussed with State Department officials. No agreement resulted from the meetings, and American officials have consistently said no commitments were made.

Washington Has Sent Signals, but Not a Formal Endorsement

Statements from American political figures have added to the ambiguity. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly described Alberta in January as a “natural partner” for the United States and drew attention to the province’s resources. Republican politicians and conservative commentators have also discussed Alberta separation or the possibility of closer integration with the United States. Those remarks have given separatist organizers material they can point to as evidence that their movement has attracted American interest.

They are not, however, the same thing as an official U.S. policy supporting Alberta independence. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra has denied involvement with the Canadian deployment of 10X Votes and told The Globe he had “zero involvement with 10X Votes in Canada.” He has also publicly denied that the Trump administration was working with Alberta separatists to strategize about independence. A White House official told The Globe that administration officials meet numerous civil-society groups and that no support or commitments were conveyed during the Alberta contacts. Those denials remain an essential part of the record.

Carney and Smith Both Said Canadian Sovereignty Must Be Respected

The Washington meetings prompted a rare point of agreement between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. After reports of the contacts emerged in January, both said the United States should respect Canadian sovereignty. Carney said President Donald Trump had not raised Alberta separatism with him, while Smith said discussions about Alberta’s democratic future should remain with Albertans and Canadians. Smith has repeatedly said she favours Alberta remaining within Canada despite acknowledging deep dissatisfaction with Ottawa among parts of the provincial electorate.

British Columbia Premier David Eby used much stronger language, calling the separatists’ attempt to seek U.S. assistance “treason.” Neither Smith nor Carney adopted that characterization. Jeff Rath also rejected the accusation and emphasized that the Alberta Prosperity Project representatives were private citizens without authority to negotiate agreements on behalf of Alberta. The dispute illustrates how politically charged the American connection has become, but strong political accusations should not be confused with a judicial finding that a criminal offence occurred.

The October 19 Vote Will Not Make Alberta Independent

The timing of The Globe’s investigation gives the revelations additional significance. Elections Alberta has scheduled a provincial referendum for October 19, with ten questions appearing on the ballot. The separation-related Question 10 gives voters two choices: Alberta can remain a province of Canada, or the provincial government can be directed to begin the legal process required to hold a future binding referendum on whether Alberta should separate.

That means even a victory for the second option would not itself remove Alberta from Confederation. Elections Alberta explicitly identifies Question 10 as non-binding. Canadian constitutional law creates additional hurdles. In the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark Quebec secession reference, the court concluded that a province cannot lawfully leave Canada unilaterally. A clear majority supporting separation on a clear question could create an obligation for governments to negotiate, but the referendum result alone would not accomplish secession. Any eventual separation would require extensive political negotiations and constitutional change.

The Investigation Establishes Serious Connections, but Important Questions Remain

Several elements of the story can now be separated from speculation. The Globe reports that Michigan Republican organizers associated with 10X Votes travelled to Alberta and discussed campaign technology with separatist figures. The technology’s organizing model was subsequently adapted by the Centurion Project. Elections Alberta has independently confirmed unauthorized use of the provincial electors list, and Alberta’s privacy commissioner has investigated the handling of that information. Separate reporting from the Financial Times, Reuters and Canadian media has established that Alberta separatist representatives also held meetings with U.S. State Department officials.

What has not been established is equally important. There is no publicly demonstrated evidence that the U.S. government directed the Michigan organizers’ work in Alberta, financed the separatist campaign or formally committed itself to Alberta independence. American officials deny making such commitments, and Alberta separatists themselves disagree about the wisdom and extent of U.S. involvement. The emerging picture is therefore more complicated than either a purely domestic movement or a centrally directed foreign operation: it is a Canadian separatist campaign in which some organizers actively sought American relationships, and some American political actors were willing to engage.

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