Alberta ‘excessively vulnerable’ to foreign interference, experts warn

Alberta is not ready to deal with the threat of online disinformation coming from foreign actors in a possible referendum campaign on separation this fall, according to national security experts.

“Alberta is excessively vulnerable to American interference,” Jean-Christophe Boucher, a professor of political science at the University of Calgary, told Radio-Canada.

Boucher, whose research focuses on foreign interference, is unequivocal: "If there were a referendum in Alberta, there would be no one within the Alberta government who could analyze and collect data to ensure that the conversation about the referendum is not being manipulated by foreign actors."

“Alberta is not ready at all. It’s almost completely unready,” adds Patrick Lennox, a former director of intelligence with the RCMP, now turned security consultant. “There is no capacity whatsoever to push back against that form of misinformation and disinformation that's going to happen.”

According to Lennox, the interference has already started.

"Anecdotally, you can see evidence of foreign-constructed misinformation, disinformation already percolating online,” he said.

Online foreign interference can take many forms: memes, written posts, songs or infographics. They all represent examples of "narratives that are being constructed from outside of the organic Alberta domestic political process and are being imported in order to influence the discourse and the outcome of the political process,” said Lennox.

On top of posting content to influence debates on social media, foreign actors seeking to influence the outcome of a potential Alberta independence referendum could "manipulate the amplification of the message," says Boucher.

They could, for example, create numerous fake accounts or bots to share content in support of Alberta independence, to make it seem like the movement has more momentum than is really the case.

In Alberta, two provincial organizations are responsible for preventing foreign interference: Elections Alberta and the Provincial Security and Intelligence Office (PSIO).

Elections Alberta acknowledges that its powers are limited. 

“Beyond a single provision of ‘False statement about a candidate’ at section 160 of the Election Act, Elections Alberta has no mandate or substantive jurisdiction to combat election misinformation or dis-information,” writes Robyn Bell, a spokesperson for the agency.

The PSIO, which is under the purview of the provincial Ministry of Public Safety, has 16 employees “dedicated specifically to provincial security and intelligence analysis,” according to Sheena Campbell, the ministry’s director of communication.

Campbell says the agency "continues to monitor the overall threat environment in co-ordination with its national security partners," without specifying if any specific steps have been taken to counter the possibility of foreign interference in the referendum.