EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she will seek a higher national security clearance so she can receive information about foreign interference in Alberta, especially regarding its October referendum. "The RCMP does not brief our government," said Smith during Question Period on Wednesday. "I made that clear, and no, I'm not happy with that fact, which is why we have to go to alternative sources to be able to get intelligence, and I am going through the process to be able to get a higher clearance so that I can get CSIS briefings, because I would like to know if there is any foreign interference happening in our province."Her comments followed a committee meeting on Tuesday, in which she said she intends to establish an intelligence branch within the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service once it is operating in June, due to a lack of information from the federal agency. "I wish we could rely on the RCMP, but they have not been forthcoming on giving us this information," Smith said on Tuesday. "I wish we could rely on CSIS, but they have also not been forthcoming at giving us this information, because you have to get certain security clearances." .There have been risks and reports of foreign interference in Alberta politics, especially regarding Alberta independence, for several months. "Alberta is excessively vulnerable to American interference,” reads a quote from Jean-Christophe Boucher, a professor of political science at the University of Calgary, in a March 4 CBC article."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," Boucher added elsewhere in the story. Leaders of the Alberta independence movement have had close interactions with unnamed US federal officials, who have reportedly pledged their support if Alberta were to become independent. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously flirted with the idea of the U.S. supporting Alberta's independence. .Some individuals have also claimed Vladimir Putin and Russia have been playing a role in the movement, and will continue to do so. These risks are among the reasons public figures have called on Smith to step in and cancel Alberta’s October referendum. Smith, however, will not do so. Instead, she said she trusts Albertans. "And while there are some politicians and commentators that fear direct democracy, such as referendums, I do not," Smith said during her speech at Wednesday's Edmonton Leader's Dinner. "I trust the judgment of Albertans."
