(Bloomberg) — Police are investigating the unauthorized use of about 3 million citizens’ personal data in Alberta, the oil-rich Canadian province that appears headed toward a referendum on independence.

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An activist group called the Centurion Project is accused of unauthorized possession of Alberta’s list of electors, which contains names, addresses and other personal information of voters. The dataset comprises about three-fifths of the province’s population, according to Elections Alberta.

That agency believes the Centurion Project obtained the data from the Republican Party of Alberta — a minor political party that supports Alberta’s secession from Canada. Ivestigators have started a probe in response to concerns about “potential misuse” of the voter list, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

On Monday, a different group of separatist organizers said they had gathered enough petition signatures to trigger a vote on independence, which could take place in October.

The fact that separatist activists were in possession of the list has caused a political furor in Canada, has raised questions around safeguards and privacy ahead of a potential vote on independence.

“What happened here is very serious,” Diane McLeod, Alberta’s information and privacy commissioner, said in a statement. “More than 2.9 million Albertans have had their personal information breached.”

Alberta independence activist David Parker issued a statement on behalf of the Centurion Project on X. He said the group relied on a third party to share data and that volunteers didn’t have access to phone numbers or emails. The Centurion Project will comply with the Elections Alberta investigation, Parker said.

Elections Alberta delivered a cease-and-desist letter to the Centurion Project on April 28 and police sent officers to a meeting of the group in Edmonton the following day to ensure the database wasn’t being used. The elections agency then received a court injunction on April 30 to stop the Centurion Project from accessing or using the list, and compelling it to identify everyone who’s had access to it.

The Republican Party of Alberta said it will assist all investigations, but that it hadn’t yet been contacted by the RCMP or asked to meet with Elections Alberta. The Centurion Project didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment after regular business hours Tuesday.

In an added twist, members of Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party were among about 80 attendees for a April 16 online meeting of the Centurion Project at which the database was discussed.

“The organizers of this meeting were adamant that the data being used was obtained legally. At the time, the staff observing the meeting had no reason to believe the website in question was unlawful,” the United Conservative caucus said in an emailed statement.

On that call, Centurion Project activists demonstrated how to find voters’ information by bringing up the personal details of former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, according to the New Democratic Party, the largest opposition party in the province.

Kenney called it part of an “outrageous data leak” and said he will discuss the matter with his lawyers. The longtime Conservative politician said he has received “no shortage of threats from people broadly associated with the separatist / antivax / far right movement in Alberta,” making the availability of his home address more disturbing.

He also raised concerns about the impact on “vulnerable Albertans, including victims of domestic violence, journalists, activists, judges, and other public servants for years to come.”

The NDP revealed their political rivals’ attendance at the Centurion Project meeting and leveled questions at Premier Danielle Smith, asking when she knew about the meeting and what actions she has taken to protect Albertans’ privacy.

Smith says she’s in favor of a “sovereign Alberta within a united Canada.” But her government instituted legal changes that made it much easier for separatist organizers to try to force a referendum. UCP voters are more likely to be in favor of separation than the average Albertan, according to polls.

Smith’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment after business hours on Tuesday.

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