Alberta separatists submit 300,000 signatures to push independence referendum

Authorities investigate leak of 2.9 million voters’ details, adding to turmoil around independence push

Alberta separatists have delivered more than 300,000 signatures to elections officials in western Canada, in support of their attempt to force an independence referendum in Canada’s oil-rich province.

But the effort stumbled immediately as a separatist-linked group posted the personal data of nearly three million residents online in one of the largest data breaches in Canadian history, fomenting fears of a possible political interference crisis.