UCP leaked confidential poll data despite refused permission, Alberta pollster says

An Alberta pollster is calling out the United Conservative Party for leaking private data from a poll she did, which shows the party has moved ahead in popular support.

Janet Brown believes the party leaked some of the more favourable data from her poll, because Premier Jason Kenney's leadership review is coming up on April 9, and memberships need to be bought by Saturday.

"They had asked me if I would be willing to put this data out, because they thought it would work to their advantage," Brown said. "I had said 'no' to them on a couple of occasions, but they leaked the numbers anyway."

Brown runs Opinion Research, which does polling for clients across the political spectrum, as well as unions and other businesses. She also sends a syndicated report, called The Wild Ride Update, to subscribers, one of which is the UCP.

The subscription agreement, however, states that subscribers must keep the data in her reports confidential, she explained while on CBC's Daybreak Alberta.

"My business model just doesn't work if the data the client has paid for is out there in the media."

Brown knows it was the UCP who leaked the poll because each report she gives to clients has a unique footer at the bottom of every page.

"The reporters who have received the document have confirmed to me that the document they receive is the one that I prepared for the initial party," she said while on CBC's West of Centre.

The UCP has not responded to CBC's requests for comment. 

Earlier this week, Alberta government political staffers received emails asking them to take Friday off work and volunteer to call supporters.

The latest Angus Reid Institute poll suggests Kenney has a 30 per cent approval rating — second-lowest among the provincial premiers. Kenney is also combatting critics within his party, namely Brian Jean.

Jean, who recently won the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche byelection as the UCP candidate, has been outspoken about Kenney needing to step down as party leader, and will be gunning for that role on April 9.

"They very much wanted to have some good news out there, because so many other polls were not reflecting very positive on the UCP," Brown said.

But Brown says the party "really did cherry pick" the data, explaining that what was leaked is missing context