Lawsuit filed over voter privacy breach affecting almost three million Albertans

Jun 30, 2026 | 1:44 PM

A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed in Alberta after the private information of nearly three million Albertans was allegedly obtained and published by a separatist group.

A statement of claim filed last week accuses the Alberta government, its elections agency, and the Republican Party of Alberta of failing to protect the sensitive data.

It also alleges that David Parker, the leader of the separatist group involved, should have known that his access to and use of the province’s official voter list would put Albertans in harm’s way.

The allegations have not been tested or proven in court, and a judge must certify the proposed class action lawsuit before it can proceed.

The lawsuit stems from actions taken earlier this year when Alberta elections officials said names and addresses for 2.9 million registered Alberta voters were accessible on the separatist website.

Elections officials got the website taken down and the list was traced to the Republican Party which was legally allowed to have it but not share it with unauthorized groups, including the separatist group.

The provincial government, Elections Alberta, the Republican Party of Alberta and a lawyer for David Parker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The leak is the focus of investigations by the RCMP, Elections Alberta and the provincial privacy watchdog.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2026.

by Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press