Third-party advertiser Take Back Alberta fined more than $100K by Elections Alberta

EDMONTON — Take Back Alberta, the third-party advertiser that made headlines for its role in the high-profile ouster of former premier Jason Kenney, has been fined more than $100,000 by Elections Alberta.

The body that oversees provincial election spending and voting rules has fined Take Back Alberta, and its founder David Parker, for a range of violations from breaking fundraising rules to improper bookkeeping.

The seven fines totalling $112,500 against the political group include accepting contributions from outside Alberta and Canada and circumventing election advertising spending limits.

Parker is being fined a total of $7,500 for three violations, including for knowingly making false statements on financial reports, according to a list of the administrative penalties published on Elections Alberta’s website.

Parker disputed the legality of the fines, saying he’s weighing his options and deciding whether he will appeal or challenge them.

He called the rulings “ridiculous” and said they amount to politically motivated “lawfare.”

“We didn’t do political advertising. If we did, the people who donated were donating to operations, and it is absolutely unjust for them to be prosecuted because of a new interpretation by Elections Alberta,” Parker said in an interview.

“There are no rules in Alberta for societies to not be able to receive money from people outside of Alberta. There’s rules that you cannot receive money for political advertising.”

The penalties come after Elections Alberta took Parker to court last year to turn over the names of his donors as part of its investigation.

Elections Alberta told The Canadian Press Tuesday it is prohibited from commenting publicly on investigations, and that election law does not allow it to provide copies of its reports.

Kenney garnered only 51 per cent of party support in 2022, prompting his resignation and a leadership race that would crown Premier Danielle Smith as the leader of the governing United Conservative Party.

Billing itself as a grassroots political movement, Take Back Alberta supported Smith’s leadership bid, although Smith has since publicly distanced herself from Parker.

Jonathan Heidebrecht, listed by Elections Alberta as Take Back Alberta’s chief financial officer, is also being fined $500 for knowingly making a false statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2025.

— With files from Matthew Scace in Calgary

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press