While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Carrie Tait.
The RCMP is investigating fraud, breach of trust and money laundering in connection with Alberta’s health care procurement controversy, according to a letter filed in court that reveals for the first time the potential criminal activity police are examining. The Mounties confirmed in early 2025 that they launched an investigation into the province’s health care purchasing practices, and earlier this...
For anyone looking, it was right there in bold text: white on blue, a message affixed to the front of the lectern Alberta Premier Danielle Smith used to speak two days after her province overwhelmingly rejected the pursuit of separatism. “Stronger Alberta within a United Canada,” the text read. It was a new formulation of a familiar refrain for Ms...
Revelations about talks in Washington where Alberta separatists suggested exchanging water and oil for U.S. support, and in Calgary where separatists met secretly with Republican strategists, have sparked an outcry from federalists – and a call for legislative change. Corey Hogan, Calgary’s lone Liberal member of Parliament, said on Sunday that Canada needs to consider overhauling its laws to address...
The pitch began with a prayer. On an afternoon in late January, Mitch Sylvestre, the leader of Alberta’s most prominent separatist organization, gathered with three of his lieutenants in a boardroom not far from the executive hangars at the Calgary International Airport, where private jets shuttle in and out of the city away from prying eyes. It was a few...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Saturday cautioned against Canada applying retaliatory tariffs as the country’s trade war with the United States escalates, but stopped short of demanding Prime Minister Mark Carney reject the option. “I know, emotionally, it feels good to retaliate. I get that. But let’s remember what happens when we retaliate,” Ms. Smith said during her regular talk...
Alberta will hold a binding referendum on secession early next year if the results of October’s provincewide vote favour launching the process to separate from the rest of Canada, Premier Danielle Smith asserted during town halls this summer. The Premier’s timeline allocates about 2.5 months for consultations with Indigenous people, a window she said aligns with what Canada pencilled in...
The president of Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party says he believes that a majority of UCP members will vote against remaining in Canada in a referendum this fall, despite Premier Danielle Smith’s campaign in favour of Confederation. Rob Smith, who heads the UCP’s board of directors, said the party will not pick a side in the lead-up to the separation...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Friday blamed Canada’s unity crisis – reignited this week after her decision to put a convoluted question about secession to a provincial referendum – on other political leaders. The Premier, a year ago, threatened an “unprecedented national unity crisis” if Ottawa did not scrap laws she viewed as hostile toward Alberta’s energy industry. She and...
A businessman appointed to the board of a provincial investment agency by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said he is an accredited accountant for more than a decade despite not having those qualifications, an investigation by The Globe and Mail has found. Financial statements obtained by The Globe show that Sam Jaber, who owns multiple accounting and tax preparation businesses...
The leader of the separatist organization accused of misusing Alberta’s list of electors by providing hundreds of supporters with access to private information belonging to 2.9 million residents is refusing to co-operate with investigators. David Parker, the political organizer behind the Centurion Project, is stonewalling Elections Alberta, according to a statement from the head of the agency. “I can confirm...
The RCMP has informed the Alberta government that there is no evidence the province’s separatist movement has been subject to foreign interference, according to the minister who oversees policing. Mike Ellis, Alberta’s Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Services, on Wednesday attributed this information to the RCMP’s deputy commissioner, noting the update landed before the government learned about an alleged...
Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery shortened the amount of time Elections Alberta has to penalize political finance violations while his friend and relative Sam Mraiche was under investigation by the regulator, a Globe and Mail investigation has found. In May, 2025, Mr. Amery pushed through a series of amendments he said would “strengthen public trust” in the integrity of the...
Alberta’s health agency has cancelled negotiations with two companies owned in part by Sam Mraiche, the Edmonton businessman at the centre of the province’s procurement controversy. The companies were in talks with Alberta Health Services to open private surgical facilities. Matt Jones, the Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services, made the surprise announcement in the legislature on Tuesday, saying...
Alberta’s Official Opposition on Sunday said a Globe and Mail story documenting ties between Premier Danielle Smith’s government and an Edmonton businessman underscore the need for a public inquiry into the province’s health care procurement practices. New Democratic Party Leader Naheed Nenshi said The Globe’s investigation detailing links between executive Sam Mraiche and Ms. Smith’s government reveal “deep, deep, deep”...
Two of the most senior purchasing officials at Alberta Health Services in 2022 were also briefly directors of a numbered company with ties to a supplier that has been awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in business by the health agency, The Globe and Mail has found. Corporate filings show that in October, 2022, Jitendra Prasad and Blayne Iskiw –...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s former chief of staff lived in a $1.6-million Edmonton home owned by the sister of Sam Mraiche, a businessman whose dealings with the provincial health authority are subject to multiple investigations. Marshall Smith, who served as the Premier‘s chief of staff between October, 2022, and October, 2024, lived at the property, not far from the University...
Alberta’s Justice Minister is a long-time friend and related through marriage to a man whose companies’ business dealings with the province’s health authority are now part of multiple investigations. Mickey Amery, who also serves as the United Conservative Party’s deputy house leader, confirmed his relationship to Sam Mraiche, whose businesses are tied to a lawsuit and multiple investigations, including by...
An Alberta cabinet minister resigned Tuesday morning to protest Premier Danielle Smith’s handling of allegations government officials pressed the provincial health authority to make deals favouring private businesses, deepening the crisis over the contracting and procurement affair.
Alberta cabinet ministers and government officials attended Stanley Cup playoff games in Edmonton as guests of a man whose company was involved in importing children’s medicine from Turkey, while the Premier and her staff attended a separate game in Vancouver with tickets provided by a director of a provincial Crown corporation, according to sources and attendees who spoke with The...
One of Alberta’s most prominent New Democratic Party MLAs is set to resign, opening a potential seat for perceived leadership front-runner Naheed Nenshi and setting the stage for a feisty by-election in the southern part of the province. Shannon Phillips, who was first elected in Lethbridge-West in 2015, told The Globe and Mail she will step down on July 1...