Alberta changes voter list rules, eyes new legislation after privacy breach

EDMONTON – Alberta’s government said Friday it has made temporary changes to rules governing provincial voter lists after a major privacy breach earlier this year.

However, the move drew concern from the Opposition NDP, who said the government could be opening the door to voter fraud in next month’s referendum.

The province published a new policy Thursday that says copies of Alberta’s official voter list given to political parties will only include the number of voters in each voting area and municipality.

It’s a major shift, as the list previously included first and last names, home addresses and postal codes, phone numbers and a unique identifier for each registered voter.

The list is managed by Elections Alberta and copies are distributed to political parties, legislators, election candidates and constituency associations for things such as campaigns and fundraising.

The new policy, which is set to expire at the end of the year, comes after a separatist group called the Centurion Project published a database in the spring that elections officials said included the private information of nearly three million Albertans.

Investigators traced the database to a copy of the list given to the pro-independence Republican Party of Alberta. The party has denied any wrongdoing.

A judge in April ordered the Centurion Project to take the website down after Elections Alberta took the issue to court. The agency has said it’s possible thousands of people viewed the database.

In a statement Friday, Justice Minister Mickey Amery’s office said it put the policy in place in an effort to protect Albertans’ private information.

“Albertans must have confidence that their personal information is being protected,” his office said Friday.

“We take the privacy and security of Albertans’ information very seriously, and protecting that information remains our top priority.”

It also said the government planned to introduce legislation this fall to protect privacy and “uphold the integrity of our elections,” but didn’t provide details on what would be changing.

The government also didn’t explain why the new policy was temporary. 

Opposition NDP house leader Christina Gray said the change raises serious concerns, including opening the door to potential voter fraud in the upcoming referendum.

She told reporters Friday that political parties need the more detailed voter lists to properly scrutinize ballot counts.

“This unprecedented last-minute change is actually going to take away our ability to understand who has voted where,” she said. 

“We won’t know if 30 people at a single house address suddenly appear in certain areas. We won’t be able to tell if the same name is voting dozens of times. 

“We need to be able to have transparency.”

On Oct. 19, Albertans are to vote on 10 referendum questions put forward by Premier Danielle Smith’s government, including whether to stay in Canada or hold a second, binding vote on quitting Confederation.

Amery’s office didn’t immediately respond to questions about how the new policy will affect the referendum and the scrutineering process.

Elections Alberta confirmed that it will still be using the detailed voter list when it comes to the referendum and that Albertans who go to the polls will have their names crossed off accordingly when they’re given a ballot.

“The change does not impact lists used by Elections Alberta to administer the referendum and ensure its integrity, or lists previously received by authorized recipients,” a spokesperson said.

The agency also said voters are crossed off in real time electronically when they vote by mail or at advanced polls. On referendum day, a paper list will be used and it will note who has already voted.

The elections agency deferred questions about the meaning and intention of the new voter list rules to the government.

“Any elector list that goes out from now until end of December will only contain the information permitted by the (new policy),” the agency said.

The data breach involving the Centurion Project is being investigated by Elections Alberta, RCMP and the provincial privacy watchdog.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2026.