Dirty political dealings are now routine in Alberta

Posted on January 22, 2026 by Taber Times

Is there any other province in Canada that plays dirtier political games than Alberta? I don’t know if anyone has tried to measure it, but I would bet that Alberta is in a class of its own.

It doesn’t matter what side of the debate you’re on over the firing of Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former CEO of Alberta Health Services, the province-wide health authority and one of the largest public-sector employers in Canada. Whether she was unjustly ousted for doing her job too well or, as critics believe, she was gaming the system, the intrigue surrounding her removal is ugly.

The alleged activities detailed in court documents read like a lowbrow gangster movie of almost comic proportions.

Except they aren’t comic. Innocent people are being targeted or becoming collateral damage.

Consider the case of Carrie Tait, The Globe and Mail reporter who aggressively pursued the story behind Mentzelopoulos’s dismissal. Tait is a senior investigative reporter covering Alberta politics. During her reporting, she discovered she was being followed by unknown individuals. The most plausible explanation is what appeared to be attempted intimidation.

Credit to the editors at The Globe for assigning additional reporters to continue the work. Whether those efforts will also attract harassment remains an open concern.

Tait is not alone. Mentzelopoulos has told The Globe that she is being harassed by David Wallace, a self-described political “fixer,” who has attacked her on his podcast, The Political Dark Arts Report. Sandy Edmonstone, a former AHS board member, has made similar claims. He obtained a court order authorizing the seizure of evidence from the homes of Wallace and Alberta political podcaster James Di Fiore, alleging the two spread damaging rumours about him.

Court records show Wallace told solicitors Edmonton lawyer Bryan Ward hired him for what he described as “unspecified work.” Ward is well known for acting on behalf of Sam Mraiche, whose medical equipment companies sit at the centre of ongoing provincial procurement controversies.

Accusations from figures widely regarded as having limited credibility are often dismissed as noise. That becomes untenable when their narratives surface at the highest political level.

Premier Danielle Smith demonstrated this during the Nov. 19 Question Period session in the Alberta Legislature, when she responded to an NDP question about former UCP member Peter Guthrie by remarking that the member for Airdrie-Cochrane had enjoyed “way too many tomahawk steaks and specialty drinks,” a comment implying lavish personal indulgence.

That line closely echoed a claim Wallace made on his podcast, offered without evidence, suggesting Guthrie was drinking “specialty drinks” while his wife was being treated to “tomahawk steaks.”

Guthrie resigned from Smith’s cabinet in protest over the government’s health procurement scandal. He now leads the nascent Progressive Tory Party, placing him squarely in the sights of a government that shows little tolerance for internal dissent.

For the most powerful political figure in the province to repeat hearsay that mirrors claims from a partisan podcast is deeply inappropriate.

Unfortunately, this behaviour isn’t new. Alberta has a record of dirty political conduct.

In 2017, Lethbridge police officers improperly accessed a police database to gather information about then-NDP environment minister Shannon Phillips. One officer photographed her and posted the images online. Phillips had been advocating restrictions on off-road vehicle use and the creation of a provincial park in the Castle area. While the officers faced consequences, Phillips later said accountability fell short.

Another episode surfaced publicly in 2022, involving an alleged 2019 attempt to entrap then-Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi in a bribery scheme. Wallace claimed he was hired to help orchestrate an operation in which individuals posing as Russian officials would offer illegal payments to Nenshi and other councillors. The plan, dubbed Operation Peacock, collapsed when Nenshi refused the overtures. No charges were laid.

Alberta’s recent political history offers no shortage of similar cases.

Something in the province’s political culture treats lying, bullying, spying and entrapment as acceptable tactics. That reality helps explain why so many capable and principled people hesitate to enter public life.

Wallace and Di Fiore exemplify this ecosystem. Their podcasts traffic in rambling monologues, ad nauseam repetition, nod-and-wink innuendo and conspiratorial attacks on “mainstream media.”

Di Fiore’s podcast, Blackballed, reflects a similar worldview. In one episode featuring Wallace, Di Fiore derided the conservative Western Standard.

“The Western Standard is just a rag that publishes pro-Conservative viewpoints, often being fed stories from Conservatives who need the good press,” he said. “But no one…reads it, right?”

He added that it appeals only to people who “don’t seem to care about the unfair practices of the crooked political culture inside Alberta.” Wallace responded by saying he had “seen better journalism scratched on the walls of urinals.”

The only way Albertans can bring an end to this vicious cycle of cruelty is to demand better. And to make sure they punish the perpetrators by exposing, condemning and ultimately ignoring them, and rewarding those who fight to make the political climate in this province more decent, humane and respectful.

Doug Firby is an award-winning editorial writer with over four decades of experience working for newspapers, magazines and online publications in Ontario and western Canada. Previously, he served as Editorial Page Editor at the Calgary Herald.

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