Mount Royal University criminology professor Kelly Sundberg is warning Albertans that foreign actors could exploit the independence referendum by spreading online propaganda designed to manipulate voters, amplify grievances and ultimately “destroy our democracy.”

Foreign interference is a legitimate national-security concern. Russia, China and other hostile states have attempted to interfere in Western democracies, and nobody should assume Alberta is somehow immune.

But there is a rather large problem with applying that warning to Alberta's independence movement: there is no publicly disclosed evidence that foreign interference is responsible for the movement, its growth or the arguments being made by Albertans supporting independence.

In fact, the RCMP has already said it has found no credible evidence linking foreign governments to Alberta's separatist movement. Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said RCMP officials advised the province there was no evidence to substantiate allegations that foreign governments were behind the movement. 

CSIS has also acknowledged it is monitoring the independence debate and the potential for foreign interference surrounding the referendum. But publicly identifying a risk of interference is not evidence that interference has actually occurred.

Update: Here is the full letter. In an attempt to highlight a certain section, it appeared as redacted. https://t.co/Y7PJkV0KRl pic.twitter.com/lE6clkIdf8

— Naheed Nenshi (@nenshi) August 3, 2026

A threat assessment is not proof of a threat materializing.

Yet Sundberg told Alberta Primetime that Albertans should question the information they encounter online, asking “who’s actually producing this, and why?” He predicted that with the referendum approaching, “the campaigning, if you will, and the propaganda is yet to come.”

Calling the coming referendum campaign “propaganda,” particularly in the middle of a discussion about Russia, China and foreign manipulation, risks discounting the enormous amount of legitimate political organizing being done openly by Albertans themselves.

The independence campaign did not suddenly materialize from mysterious social-media accounts in Moscow or Beijing.

Hundreds of thousands of Albertans signed the citizen initiative petition seeking a referendum. Volunteers spent months collecting those signatures across the province. Independence organizations have held town halls, rallies and public events, distributed signs, raised money and publicly made their case for leaving Confederation.

Alberta canvassers now exceed the number of RCMP in the province (~4000)

And is approaching the number of CAF active service (~11,000) https://t.co/1uRzMwhxHj

— Yukon Strong 🫎 (@YukonStrong) February 17, 2026

Then there are Alberta's registered third-party advertisers.

Here's the most recent financial reporting for the Alberta independence referendum 3rd party advertisers.

"Let Alberta Decided" is approaching the limit set by the Elections Act with nearly $400,000 raised. pic.twitter.com/8X9heZv3fg

— Martyupnorth®- Unacceptable Fact Checker (@Martyupnorth) August 11, 2026

Elections Alberta regulates referendum TPAs. Organizations meeting the applicable contribution or spending thresholds must register and are subject to provincial election-finance and reporting requirements.

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These aren't anonymous Russian bots. They are identifiable Alberta political organizations participating openly in a democratic process.

And there is an obvious double standard lurking underneath the foreign-influence discussion.

We don't even know whether Forever Canadian, one of the most prominent organizations campaigning against independence, is receiving money from outside Alberta.

Forever Canadian solicits donations from individuals, corporations, unions and associations and states publicly that there are “no limits on donation amounts.” Albertans do not currently have complete public information showing where all of that money is coming from.

If outside influence on Alberta's referendum is the concern, then surely that concern must run in both directions.

An American, Ontario corporation or national union spending money to influence Albertans to remain in Canada doesn't become irrelevant simply because the money supports federalism. Transparency shouldn't depend on which box somebody wants Albertans to check.

If we're going to ask “who's actually producing this, and why?” every time an Albertan encounters an independence argument online, then it's perfectly reasonable to ask who is financing the campaign telling Albertans to stay.

More fundamentally, the foreign-propaganda framing underestimates Albertans themselves.

We aren't stupid.

Albertans don't require Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping to explain Western alienation to them.

They can look at equalization and federal fiscal transfers. They can examine federal energy policies, pipeline battles, the Impact Assessment Act, emissions regulations and firearms laws. They can consider Alberta's representation in federal institutions and more than a century of constitutional disputes with Ottawa.

Rosemary Barton argues that Ottawa is finally making progress for Alberta.

Keith Wilson sets the record straight: the bad anti-development laws remain, the tanker ban remains and Bill C-69 remains.

Ottawa could repeal these laws. It refuses. Alberta independence is the answer. pic.twitter.com/GsYPtiPZEC

— Rise Of Alberta (@RiseOfAlberta) August 8, 2026

They can listen to the independence side. They can listen to Forever Canadian. And then they can make up their own minds.

Alberta separatism also predates today's social-media ecosystem by decades. Western alienation has repeatedly produced political movements challenging the province's place within Confederation, from Social Credit through the battles over Pierre Trudeau's National Energy Program and later the Reform movement.

Foreign governments didn't invent those grievances.

None of this means security agencies should ignore foreign interference. Quite the opposite.

If CSIS or the RCMP discovers Russia, China, the United States or another foreign state secretly financing referendum organizations, coordinating influence networks, impersonating Albertans or otherwise manipulating the vote, expose it. Investigate it. Prosecute illegal activity where appropriate.

And tell Albertans exactly what happened.

There have also been outside researchers alleging American and Russian online actors are attempting to amplify Alberta separatist content. Those claims deserve scrutiny too. But evidence that foreign accounts are talking about, sharing or attempting to exploit an existing political controversy is not evidence that Alberta's independence organizations, their arguments or the hundreds of thousands of people who have participated in the movement were created or controlled by foreign interests.

Conflating those things would be like discovering Russian accounts commenting on a federal election and concluding Canadian political parties are therefore Russian propaganda operations.

The independence movement is real. Its organizations are real. Its volunteers are real. Its grievances are longstanding, and its supporters are perfectly capable of reaching political conclusions without covert instructions from a foreign government.

And if transparency about outside influence is genuinely the principle at stake, then let's have transparency on both sides of the referendum, including disclosure about who is financing Forever Canadian.