Separatist Site Offers Donors a Piece of the ‘Republic of Alberta’

Of the 23 third-party advertisers vying for donations to finance campaigns in Alberta’s upcoming referendum on separation and immigration, Elections Alberta disclosures show Alberta Land Consortium Inc. is now sitting at a respectable fourth, having raised $30,315.

After reviewing the Calgary company’s website — freealbertaland.com — you might deduce that its fundraising success is due to an extraordinary land and immigration scheme it is touting.

For a $1,000 donation, the recipient will receive a free share in a fractional land corporation. The consortium offers the tantalizing prospect that this fractional ownership of as-yet unpurchased land in a potentially independent Alberta could grant citizenship to anyone from anywhere in the world.

“You don't have to move here or live here, but you are welcome to plant some roots here,” the website states. “Let's just call it your vacation home for now. The opportunities await.”

But any conclusion linking their fundraising success to the immigration scheme would be false.

Corporate searches of most of the biggest donors to the consortium reveal their directors are Robert Deer and his children. Deer is listed on the Elections Alberta website as the consortium’s primary contact and chief financial officer.

Of the $30,315 raised by the consortium, at least $25,150 came from corporations or individuals directly related to Deer.

In an email to The Tyee, the 72-year-old acknowledged he and his family are the major donors. But he said everything related to the consortium is above board and, since his “brush with the law” 20 years ago, he would not “willingly or knowingly break any laws.”

That “brush” was initially a first-degree murder conviction for hiring a hit man who in 2006 shot to death Calgary businessman Jack Beauchamp, with whom Deer was locked in a nasty dispute after a property deal fell through.

After a series of retrials and appeals, Deer in 2012 was convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter and sentenced to serve the remaining four and a half years of a 16-year sentence. The bungling hit man, Mohamed Karim, an itinerant gardener, received life in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years for second-degree murder.

The existence of Alberta Land Consortium Inc. as a third-party advertiser raises yet more questions about the rules surrounding the referendum and third-party advertisers. Critics have labelled the referendum as more of an exercise in political pandering by the governing United Conservative Party than its stated goal of allowing direct democracy for Albertans.

"We don't have clear rules and the rules seem to have changed several times both with respect to referendum question campaigns and also with respect to the advocacy that people are engaging in around the questions," Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams recently told CBC Calgary.

After reviewing the consortium’s website, Williams said “it is all so highly questionable, certainly unethical, if not illegal, and of course there is self-dealing involved.”

Offering a van as a prize, to be potentially awarded to a relative, could run afoul of Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis rules, Williams said. But in an email, an AGLC spokesperson said its "regulatory team investigates complaints related to licensed charitable gaming activities in Alberta. The Alberta Land Consortium is not registered with AGLC and any oversight into their activities fall to Elections Alberta or the law enforcement agency in the appropriate jurisdiction."

Elections Alberta spokesperson Michelle Gurney said Alberta Land Consortium Inc. was eligible, under the Election Act, to register as a third-party advertiser.

“There is nothing in the act that precludes someone with a criminal record from registering as a third-party advertiser,” she said, adding that she could not comment on any investigations Elections Alberta may or may not be conducting.

The land consortium’s listed address is a Calgary mailbox business in a rundown strip mall on 16th Avenue Northwest.

On its website, the consortium offers to give its biggest donor its campaign vehicle: a Chrysler Town & Country van.

With a donation of $2,000, Tania Constantine is listed on the website as the largest donor so far. A corporate search of a numbered company that donated to the consortium reveals Constantine is a co-director with Deer. Both list the same Calgary residential address.

Deer conceded Constantine is a family member but declined to confirm if she is his daughter. Both his sons are also listed as either individuals or directors of corporations that donated.

Williams said the consortium’s fourth-place showing in donations might persuade some people to donate. Not disclosing that most of the money came from Deer and his family could be calculated to “generate some kind of momentum or attention,” she said.

The “so-called free gifts” of the van and a $1,000 certificate entitling the donor to a share in an Alberta land corporation and citizenship could be considered inducements under provincial election law, Williams said. She cited a recent U.S. case in which Elon Musk is being investigated for doling out $1-million cheques to voters in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

Records show that Deer’s numbered company, and several other corporations related to the family that made donations, were struck from the registry for failing to file returns.

The address of one of the corporations, which is still active, corresponds with a pharmacy in Red Deer. A clerk at the pharmacy had never heard of the corporation and said the pharmacy did not offer a mailbox service from which a corporation might operate.

One of the defunct corporations that donated $5,000 to the consortium’s campaign is Flash Communications Inc. Registered in 2018 and struck in 2022, its directors are Robert Deer and Krystal Meer.

Deer acknowledged that Meer is the daughter of Jonathan (Dave) Meer. In 2011, a judge sentenced Meer to 15 years in prison for masterminding a terror campaign of violence and intimidation, which included, according to CBC, “arsons, telephone threats, Molotov cocktails and paintball gun shootings — against four former business associates, using his son and his son's friends as ‘foot soldiers’ to carry out the acts of violence.”

“I have had no contact with any of the Meer family since 2020,” Deer said, alleging that they took “thousands of dollars” from him. “I have completely eliminated that whole group from my life.”

An obvious issue that arises is whether Elections Alberta, already overstretched, will have the resources to properly investigate the Alberta Land Consortium’s financing, its associated business scheme and the legality of the inducements it is offering.

An election watchdog under stress

The United Conservative Party — based on no evidence — eliminated the use of electronic tabulators for counting votes in Alberta and also tightened identification requirements.

The coming Oct. 19 referendum will include 10 questions. Elections Alberta has said it will need to hire about 60,000 people to process the votes within the 48 hours stipulated by provincial law. Experts estimate the referendum could cost taxpayers up to $130 million.

Williams, the political scientist, said: “Elections Alberta has got a lot going on right now to try to keep track of the weekly reports of donations coming into this consortium and others and it could be quite tricky to trace and ensure that they're actually spending the money on the referendum campaign.”

It appears, she said, that the Alberta Land Consortium’s third-party advertising status, and its website, serve as a front for what seems to be a land and immigration scheme.

“It is misrepresenting possibilities on a number of different levels,” she said.

“They are talking about a proposed potential, someday as-yet undrafted constitution of Alberta that would give somebody the possibility of using this land ownership as a basis for becoming an Alberta citizen.

“It is fanciful, speculative, to say the least, and again quite misleading, if not outright fraudulent.”

Directed to the website by The Tyee, the Alberta Securities Commission said it is “assessing the matter and gathering additional information” to determine if the consortium is offering a security, which would fall within its regulatory mandate.

The Tyee asked University of Alberta law professor Péter Szigeti, who teaches immigration law, to review the promises made on the Alberta Land Consortium website.

Szigeti said that under existing Canadian law, land ownership has absolutely no impact on being allowed to immigrate or to acquire citizenship.

In any case, Szigeti said the offer made by the consortium does not give a $1,000 shareholder, made through a donation or directly, any right to land in Canada. It grants only a share in a corporation, and its land holdings could be sold, swapped or donated at any time based on a decision by its directors — Deer is the sole director — or through a majority vote by its shareholders.

“Bad business decisions can easily render [the consortium] bankrupt, which will then result in the forced sale of all of its assets,” Szigeti said. “In sum, this ‘business offer’ certainly does not grant future shareholders property rights over Albertan/Canadian land.”

In his emailed statement Deer claims the consortium was conceived in March before the referendum was announced. Corporate records show it was incorporated on March 17 and was registered with Elections Alberta on June 2.

“The original purpose was to gather together a group of people who would like to learn about, and then potentially joint venture on Alberta land projects.”

Deer said his life history as a “realtor, land developer, homebuilder and financier would provide far more value to those who became involved than the tiny investment on their part, so my value offer was quite real.”

But the joint project was not successful, Deer said, and he abandoned the idea — until he learned that the independence movement “was searching for entities willing to promote independence.”

“I changed my website to reflect that I would no longer accept any money towards the company, but rather I have offered free shares to anyone who is willing to donate $1,000 or more to the movement.”

“My focus is no longer on growth for my company, but I am using it specifically to promote the Alberta Separation Movement.”

Most of Deer’s website is still dedicated to persuading potential investors to buy $1,000 shares in the corporation with no mention of a donation to the third-party advertiser, except for a statement that has been appended near the end of the website’s text.

“Oh, and one more thing, buried deep in the webpage: If you have read this far, you are interested,” the website states.

“We have a gift just for you. From now until Oct. 19, 2026, you will receive a free share for every $1,000 CAD that you donate to our referendum third-party advertising campaign.

“In other words, all monies received by us during this period is being used to further the work of the independence project, and all shares are free to those who participate.”

Deer said he has “faithfully” recorded all donations and kept all receipts.

“I can assure you that 100 per cent of the funds that flow in and out of my bank account are relative to the referendum donations and accounts, just the way Elections Alberta requests.

“I’m not a smart man, but I am following all of the rules to the best of my knowledge, and have no ill intent.”

If you have any information for this story, or information for another story, please contact Charles Rusnell in confidence via email.