Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at a signing ceremony in Calgary on May 15.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
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 in Edmonton, has variously identified himself as a “CPA,” “certified public accountant” and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants – but both Albertan and American professional organizations say he has never been a member.
In late 2023, Ms. Smith appointed Mr. Jaber to the board of Invest Alberta, a Crown corporation that aims to attract businesses and investments to the province. He has also served as the chief financial officer at medical-supply company MHCare Medical Corp., according to a 2022 organizational chart obtained by The Globe. For more than a year, MHCare and its chief executive, Sam Mraiche, have found themselves at the centre of a procurement controversy that has roiled Ms. Smith’s government and led to investigations by the RCMP and the province’s Auditor-General.
The RCMP executed a search warrant in March at the offices of MHCare and one of Mr. Jaber’s accounting businesses, Jaberson & Associates Inc., in connection with its probe of the government’s purchasing controversy. In the days after the search, Mr. Jaber announced he was voluntarily taking a leave of absence from his duties with Invest Alberta.
The financial statements prepared by Mr. Jaber and reviewed by The Globe raise questions about how much the Smith government knew about the background of a man it appointed to a position of public trust, and who was a senior executive of MHCare, which received more than $600-million from Alberta’s health agency during and after the pandemic.
The Alberta health care procurement controversy, explained
A representative for Ms. Smith did not respond to questions from The Globe, including about what credentials Mr. Jaber supplied to the government prior to his appointment.
Matthew Nathanson, a lawyer for Mr. Jaber, did not respond to three e-mails and two phone calls from The Globe seeking comment for this story. In a statement after the police search in March, Mr. Nathanson said his client is a “law-abiding professional who has done nothing wrong.”
“He has not been charged with any offence and steadfastly maintains his innocence,” Mr. Nathanson said at the time. “Any accusation against him, should one be made, will be vigorously contested.”
MHCare and Mr. Mraiche, meanwhile, have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The Globe collected 26 publicly available financial statements prepared by Mr. Jaber for six organizations: the United We Stand Foundation, of which Mr. Jaber is president and director; the Druze Association of Edmonton; the Cultural Society of Aley & Districts; The Yanta Cultural Society; Bereket & G Holdings Corp.; and Habesha African Supermarket Ltd. The first four organizations are Alberta non-profits, meaning their financial records are available from the province’s corporate registry upon request. Records for the latter two businesses became public during receivership proceedings. The documents span from 2013 to 2025.
Invest Alberta’s Sam Jaber on leave after police search of his accounting firm
In 10 of those financial statements, Mr. Jaber uses the “certified public accountant” designation. In Canada, however, the recognized term for accredited accounting professionals is “chartered professional accountant.”
In another six records, Mr. Jaber signs as a “CPA.” And in a further 10 financial statements signed by Mr. Jaber, the documents list membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), a U.S. professional organization representing accountants.
Representatives for both CPA Alberta and the AICPA told The Globe Mr. Jaber has never been a member of their organizations.
“A review of CPA Alberta’s records does not indicate that an individual by the name Sam Jaber is or has been a member of CPA Alberta or its legacy organizations,” said Joanne Rosnau, a spokesperson for the legislated regulator. No one by that name has applied to be a CPA Alberta member, she added.
In Canada, anyone can call themselves an accountant and own an accounting business. However, Mr. Jaber’s use of the “CPA” designation in Alberta requires credentials he does not have.
Accounting firm owned by Smith government appointee searched by RCMP
The financial statements reviewed by The Globe do not suggest that Mr. Jaber performed work for which he was unqualified.
The financial statements also show Mr. Jaber has called himself a member of the Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants 10 times, and a member of the Association of International Accountants (AIA), a British organization, 11 times. David Potts, a director of policy for the AIA, confirmed that Mr. Jaber has been a member since 2009. The Globe was unable to reach representatives for the Lebanese association.
The police search of Mr. Jaber’s accounting firm in March marked the latest development in a procurement controversy that has shaken Alberta’s political landscape.
That controversy began in February, 2025, when Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former chief executive officer of Alberta Health Services, sued the Alberta government for wrongful dismissal. She alleged the government fired her for conducting a probe into potential conflicts of interest between procurement officials at the agency and companies that were awarded contracts by AHS. Those included MHCare, which has done more than $600-million in business with the province since 2020.
First, there was Alberta’s health procurement controversy. Then the surveillance began
Ms. Smith’s government denies the allegations and says it terminated Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s employment because she was not executing the government’s agenda. None of the allegations have been tested in court. MHCare and its chief executive, Mr. Mraiche, are not parties to the lawsuit.
Several of Mr. Mraiche’s business ventures, including MHCare, have used Mr. Jaber and his accounting businesses as registering agents, corporate filings show.
Mr. Jaber’s appointment to the Invest Alberta board in 2023 came at the behest of the Premier’s Office, according to records obtained by The Globe through an access to information request.
In an e-mail dated Oct. 26, 2023, one government official wrote that the Premier’s Office had indicated Mr. Jaber’s selection was a “priority for immediate action.” He was appointed to the board by an order-in-council signed by the Premier four weeks later.
Sam Jaber, far left, seen in a photo posted on Danielle Smith's Facebook page, in December, 2023.Supplied
Around that time, he joined Ms. Smith for meetings in the United Arab Emirates, according to a photo she posted to social media in December, 2023. Mr. Jaber’s term with Invest Alberta is set to expire next January.
In the summer of 2024, Ms. Smith confirmed that Jaberson & Associates had furnished her with tickets to watch the Edmonton Oilers play the Vancouver Canucks in British Columbia during that year’s NHL playoffs. A photo taken by the Canadian Press shows that Mr. Mraiche joined Ms. Smith in a box to watch the game.
With a report from Stephanie Chambers