Alberta NDP, UCP pass blame over Centurion Project meeting where voter database allegedly on display
Posted May 6, 2026 4:28 pm.
Last Updated May 6, 2026 6:38 pm.
The alleged leak of Alberta’s entire electoral list – the personal information of three million Albertans – on a separatist app made public to all was the focus of Wednesday’s legislative session.
The governing United Conservative Party and Opposition NDP passed the blame in a heated game of political dodgeball.
“He should have told us,” Premier Danielle Smith said of NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi.
“Her staff member should have told her,” Nenshi roared back.
The jabs were over an April 16 meeting of the Centurion Project, the David Parker-led, pro-separatism group behind the app. The meeting allegedly explored how to access the database of personal information that’s now at the core of multiple investigations.
Nenshi revealed Tuesday his party has video evidence the list was discussed and displayed, and he questioned whether two of the attendees were members of the UCP.
Alberta’s UCP caucus later confirmed a staff member attended the meeting but specified that organizers of the Centurion Project virtual call assured attendees the data on display was “obtained legally.”
“At the time, the staff observing the meeting had no reason to believe the website in question was unlawful,” said communications director Shanna Schulhauser, who explained caucus staff “regularly attend events of political interest.”
A judge last week ordered that the Centurion Project database be shut down.
“Did the premier know her staff were at the meeting?” Nenshi asked in the legislature Wednesday.
“Uh, no, Mr. Speaker,” replied Premier Smith. “The person in question is a caucus staff member who does opposition research. He actually goes to a lot of events.”
The NDP says that staffer should have immediately reported the suspicious list to the premier and the police. The Opposition says it emailed the RCMP about the situation on April 17 – the day after the meeting.
“The premier’s staff member sat through a meeting where her friend David Parker gleefully shared Jason Kenney’s information,” said Nenshi. “’Look what I can do. Look what you can do.’ And her staff didn’t tell anybody. It’s just business as usual for this government.”
“There was no way for him to know that this data was illegal,” Smith retorted. “That was not disclosed on the call.”
The premier fired back further, saying Nenshi should have told the legislature sooner because he knew about the meeting and had a letter from a journalist who was concerned the list was illegally obtained.
‘Tremendous conflict of interest‘
Longtime conservative campaign manager Ken Boessenkool says the premier should call a public inquiry, but likely won’t because that would anger separatists in her party.
“She’s in a tremendous conflict of interest. If she does the right thing, the risk is she loses her job,” said Boessenkool, a partner at Meredith Boessenkool and Phillips.
He believes the UCP is failing to properly manage this crisis.
“When you put out a press release saying ‘Naheed Nenshi knew about things and therefore should have reported this nefarious use, but we had no idea there was nefarious use,’ they’re kind of outing themselves,” Boessenkool said. “It was the weirdest press release I ever saw in my life because they accused the Opposition of being smarter than them.”
At a press conference Wednesday, Nenshi said the UCP was engaging in “a wild political strategy.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” the Alberta NDP leader said. “Because frankly, they got nowhere else to go. They’re trying to blame this on me. They’re trying to say, ‘you should have told us’ when their staff member was in the room. But that is what the premier does. The premier always claims she didn’t know.
“I’m tired of this government’s excuses. I’m tired of their deflection. I’m tired of them trying to make this story about me.”
Elections Alberta and the RCMP announced separate investigations into the Centurion Project for illegally publishing a public database with the names and addresses of nearly three million Albertans.
The database, Elections Alberta said last week, matches an official elector list the agency supplied to the pro-independence Republican Party of Alberta.
Voter lists are only distributed to elected officials, political parties and party officials and can’t be shared with third parties.
The data leak came up during a press conference of privacy commissioners held in Ottawa. Alberta’s privacy commissioner says more info about her next steps is coming as soon as Thursday.
“Well, it’s a very serious issue and Albertans are very concerned,” said Diane McLeod. “At our office, we’re receiving numerous calls on the matter.
“We are currently assessing what our jurisdiction may be over the body that created the app and made the information available.”
The UCP caucus declined to make anyone available for interviews about the breach on Wednesday.
The party would not commit to a public inquiry.
But they have raised a point of privilege in the legislature, saying the NDP leader put MLAs at risk by not telling the legislature sooner.
The speaker is expected to rule on that on Thursday.
Parker has denied any wrongdoing in the case, initially claiming he obtained the information from a phonebook.
–With files from Kelsey Patterson
