Alberta Opposition Leader Naheed Nenshi released a reply from CSIS this week confirming the spy agency is treating the risk of foreign interference in the province’s October independence referendum as a serious concern.
Nenshi first wrote to CSIS in June, asking the agency to publicly track interference risks ahead of the October 19 vote. CSIS Director Dan Rogers responded on July 27, writing that the agency “will continue to investigate any foreign interference in Canada’s democracy,” including in connection with the referendum, though he noted CSIS’s mandate excludes lawful protest, dissent or political advocacy.
Rogers has separately said that votes with this kind of divisive potential are exactly the moments Russia and other adversaries have exploited before to spread disinformation and sow distrust.
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A separatist group built an online tool anyone could search using Alberta’s own voter rolls, exposing the names, home addresses and phone numbers of roughly 3 million residents before a court forced it offline. The breach remains under investigation by Elections Alberta, the RCMP and the provincial privacy commissioner.
Read: RCMP Investigates Alberta Separatist Group Over Alleged Misuse of 2.9 Million Voter Records
Nenshi said he’s “happy they’re taking it seriously,” though he still maintains Smith’s government hasn’t explained how it’s protecting the referendum’s integrity given the leak.
Read: US Ambassador Endorsed App at Center of Alberta Voter Data Breach, New Report Reveals
Smith’s office says two cabinet ministers are keeping tabs on influence operations and flagging concerns to authorities, but it has made no commitment to issue public updates the way Nenshi is requesting from CSIS. Smith has also faced her own credibility questions on the file.
Read: Centurion Project: Video Puts Smith’s Staff in the Room Where Stolen Data Was Shown
