The businessman at the heart of Alberta’s health care controversy

It’s not unusual for business owners to forge ties with governments, but there are rules around conflicts of interest when it comes to procurement. In February, 2025, an Alberta senior public servant stepped forward with allegations of political interference in the awarding of large health contracts. These allegations prompted investigators, auditors and opposition politicians to look closely at the ties between Premier Danielle Smith’s government and an Alberta businessman, Sam Mraiche.

Mraiche’s company, MHCare, had been awarded hundreds of millions of dollars worth of procurement contracts from Alberta Health Services. A Globe and Mail investigation found that the connections between Mr. Mraiche, purchasing officials, and senior Alberta political figures have existed longer – and are more extensive – than than previously reported.

Today, Carrie Tait, a reporter with The Globe’s Calgary bureau, and Tom Cardoso, an investigative reporter with The Globe, are on the show to talk about their investigation into the ties between a serial entrepreneur and the Alberta government.

In a previous edit of the episode, we made an error in stating Sam Mraiche was not in a photo with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Photos sourced by The Globe show Mraiche in photos with Premier Smith taken in May 2024 in Vancouver and June 2, 2024. The error has been removed from the episode.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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