The Conservative MP tasked with leading his party’s efforts to convince Albertans to stay in Canada says he is concerned by reports of separatists going to Washington and offering up fresh water and oil in exchange for American support.

Dane Lloyd, who represents the Parkland riding directly west of Edmonton, said no one has the right to promise away Albertan resources and he will not condone any of the province’s revenues going to a foreign government.

Speaking outside a House of Commons committee on Monday, Lloyd said he wouldn’t speculate on whether the reported activity amounted to foreign interference, or on how the matter should be investigated by Canadian officials.

“Absolutely nobody has a right to promise away Alberta’s birthright, which is our natural resources,” he said.

The Globe and Mail also reported over the weekend that Republican political operatives were in Alberta earlier this year to help the separatist cause.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree deferred questions about the reporting to CSIS.

“What I will say, in general terms, is as electoral events take place, democratic events take place, we expect them to be governed under democratic principles where foreign interference or actors influencing local electoral events does not occur,” he said.

Albertans will vote on Oct. 19 on whether to hold a binding referendum on legal separation from Canada.

Premier Danielle Smith has said she will vote against separation but has been accused of not doing enough to quell separatist sentiment in the province.

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas, a staunch critic of Alberta’s separatist movement, said The Globe and Mail’s reporting shows how independence leaders are putting the province’s future at risk.

“They say (separation) is about taking back control, then go begging to Washington for support,” Farkas said in a video posted to social media on Monday.

“You don’t protect Alberta’s sovereignty by seeking help from a foreign government. And you sure as hell don’t defend Alberta by discussing what parts of us you’ll carve up for the Americans.

— More to come…

— With files from The Canadian Press reporters Alessia Passafiume in Ottawa and Jack Farrell in Edmonton