Sourced from 3 independent sources (5 reports) · no points in disputeHow we sourced thisThe Epoch Times, Winnipeg Free Press, and Chat News Today
Every key fact in this report is confirmed by more than one independent source.
11 key facts · 11 corroborated · none disputed
Why some reports were counted once
Chat News Today, CityNews Calgary, and Okotoks Online — the same report, published near-identically, counted once.
When several outlets publish the identical article — often because they ran the same wire-service story — we count it as one source, not several, so the count reflects independent reporting rather than how widely one story was republished.
Allegations described here are not proven in court unless stated.
Elections Alberta is warning Albertans about a spoof website that appeared to impersonate the provincial elections agency while exploiting public concern over a recent voter-data leak.
The fake site used the domain electionsab.ca, a near-match for Elections Alberta’s legitimate website, elections.ab.ca. The agency said the site generated fake elector information, including names, addresses, phone numbers and elector ID numbers.
A near-copy of Elections Alberta
The concern, according to Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure, is not just that the website looked official. It is that it appeared designed to weaken trust in the real agency.
“I believe this disinformation activity is intended to ‘spoof’ Elections Alberta and is an attempt to reduce public confidence in my Office and electoral events in Alberta,” McClure said.
Elections Alberta said the data generated by the spoof site was not real elector information. The fake entries included names, addresses, phone numbers and fictitious elector ID numbers.
Some of the names appeared to recycle the same words in different combinations. Examples included Corey Lahey, Randy Corey and Lahey Trevor. The phone numbers used Alberta area codes, but all began with 555.
Fake data after real leak
The spoof site appeared after a recent unauthorized use of Alberta’s List of Electors involving the Centurion Project’s publication of an app that exposed voter information.
That app, which exposed real voter information, was taken down in May after a court injunction. The leak is being investigated by the RCMP and Alberta’s privacy commissioner.
Elections Alberta has framed the spoof website as an attempt to capitalize on the anxiety created by that earlier incident. The agency said the site appeared to exploit concerns about the unauthorized use of the List of Electors.
“We know Albertans are concerned about the use of their information, and we share that concern,” Elections Alberta said in source reporting connected to the warning.
Legal limits on the response
McClure said Elections Alberta does not have the legislative authority or jurisdiction to investigate the spoof website itself.
He also said Alberta’s new deepfake provisions in the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act do not cover this type of disinformation.
“Disinformation activities of this nature were not included in the newly created ‘Deepfake’ provisions in the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act, and my Office does not have the legislative authority or jurisdiction to act or investigate this site,” McClure said.
Because of that, Elections Alberta contacted law-enforcement and cybersecurity agencies about the spoof website. McClure said he is also trying to have it taken down.
A trust problem online
The spoof site points to a broader challenge for election administrators: even fake data can cause real confusion when it appears under a familiar-looking name.
Here, the distinction came down to a single dot. Elections Alberta’s legitimate site is elections.ab.ca. The spoof domain was electionsab.ca.
That kind of resemblance can matter when voters are already worried about whether their personal information has been misused. Elections Alberta said the fake site’s elector information was completely fictitious, but McClure’s warning focused on the damage disinformation can do to public confidence.
The agency is asking anyone who encounters similar online activity, or who has questions about whether election information is legitimate, to contact Elections Alberta directly.
Reader-funded. No ads. No paywall.
The Canada Report is independent, reader-funded Canadian news — no advertisers, nothing behind a paywall, kept free for everyone. If you value it, you can help keep it that way.
Support The Canada Report →
