After a prolonged hiatus, your Legislative Update returns! These bulletins summarize and explain the important and relevant details of upcoming law in Alberta, as well as important points from the debates between elected Members of the Legislative Assembly as they create legislation for the Province of Alberta.
As there was quite a bit of commotion at RMA, this edition of Legislative Update will encompass two weeks’ worth of Assembly action and news – including the introduction of several new and consequential Bills.
Visitors to the Legislature over the past two weeks include members of the Canadian armed forces, members of the Blanket for Love Foundation for Mental Health, a dozen or so grade school classes, and a research consultant with Environmental Defence. There was also plenty of discussion and debate over the increased popularity of recall petitions demonstrated by Albertans, the governments continued use and reliance on the notwithstanding clause, and the introduction of privatized healthcare.
Members’ Issues and Related Bills or Activities
Bill 4 – Public Safety and Emergency Services Statues Amendment Act, 2024
Honourable Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services
Bill 4 makes three significant changes to Alberta policing and enforcement law: (1) it strengthens Clare’s Law, (2) allows for prisoner transfers from an Alberta institution to another institution within Canada, and (3) establishes a labour relations model for the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service (ASPS) that further institutionalizes a provincial police force.
Clare’s Law – or the Disclosure to Protect Against Domestic Violence (Clare’s Law) Act– allows those who feel they are at risk of domestic abuse to receive information about potentially harmful intimate partners. The amendments in Bill 4 would expand the information collected for threat assessments and allow the Ministry to disclose this information to foreign jurisdictions and police forces. While the basis of Clare’s Law – protection from potential intimate partner violence – is likely strengthened through Bill 4, there remains concerns that other actions that could be taken by the government such as social housing for domestic abuse victims and those fleeing violence remain unsupported by the government.
The Minister would also be granted the power to transfer inmates in Alberta-based correctional facilities to other facilities across Canada. The power has been historically used in a limited fashion, primarily during wildfire season and during other, life-threatening, environmental disasters. There are no restrictions placed on transfers except that prisoners shall be placed in other correctional facilities.
The ASPS was established in July 2025 as part of the Government of Alberta’s plan to create a police force that municipalities can opt into as an alternative to RCMP services. Bill 4 outlines the framework for the ASPS to engage in collective bargaining and binding arbitration with the Government of Alberta. However, it also exempts the ASPS from key employment legislation, including the Employment Standards Code and the Public Service Employee Relations Act, effectively creating a distinct set of employment rules for ASPS officers.
Concerns were raised that the petitioning party continues to send mixed messaging on these issues. While the party presents Bill 4 as an answer to a perceived rise in violent crime, Bill 4 would likely create delayed responses as the new police force is established in Alberta. Additionally, there does not appear to be substantial appetite for a distinct police force. Rather, commentators and experts note that increasing supports for existing and established police forces would likely be a more effective way to enhance responses to these perceived threats.
Bill 4 passed its third reading – on division across party lines – and received Royal Assent on November 26. RMA continues to monitor the progress of the establishment of provincial police and will continue to advocate on behalf of rural municipalities for a healthy outcome.
Bill 7 – Water Amendment Act, 2024
Honourable Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas
Bill 7 contains long-promised amendments to the Water Act and the modernization of Alberta’s water management system. The changes follow years of consultation with advocacy groups, municipalities industry, Indigenous communities, environmental groups, farmers, and others.
Proponents of the Bill contend that the changes will make more water available for growing communities by clarifying rules and streamlining regulatory decision-making. The Minister – when introducing the Bill – contended that the Bill addresses concerns over use of alternative water sources (like rainwater), consolidation of water licences, and inter-basin transfers.
Significant changes include good-standing requirements on licences, changing the definition of “water” under the Water Act to incorporate rain and snow, enforcing time restrictions on applications, increased public disclosure, allowance for licence amalgamation, and establishes the basis for several other regulatory changes.
Bill 7 also merges existing water basins – the Peace/Slave and Athabasca River basins – into a single, large basin covering nearly half of Alberta. While this may improve access and streamline management, the change raises concerns about uncoordinated overuse, inadequate monitoring, and unaccounted cumulative environmental impacts.
The Bill also weakens safeguards against inter-basin transfers of invasive species and contaminants by introducing a “lower-risk transfer” provision. This allows the Minister to approve water transfers where flow is below a set threshold. Although this may reduce regulatory costs, it heightens the risk of spreading invasive species and pathogens – such as whirling disease – across Alberta’s watersheds.
Bill 7 allows licence holders to change a point of use provided that the new point of use is located on the same land or is associated with an attached and licenced project. The minister may only grant an amendment to the licence where there is no adverse effect on the rights of the user, other licence holders, or adversely affect the ability to conserve or manage a water body.
More analysis needs to be completed on this aspect of Bill 7, however, as this appears to undermine other provisions of the Water Act on priority. The change extends the licence holder’s ability to use more water which will affect other users of the basin. It also remains unclear from the Bill how conservation of the water body is to be maintained in these circumstances.
While Bill 7 increases access to available water sources, there remain unanswered questions on ecological protection and licence holder prioritization.
RMA continues to research into the effect of Bill 7 on water use and licencing.
Bill 7 passed its second reading on November 18.
Bill 8 – Utilities Statutes Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction
Bill 8 outlines requirements for AI data centres regarding energy usage on integration with Alberta’s electricity market. The Bill primarily amends the Electric Utilities Act to introduce the concept and rules surrounding Alberta’s new Restructured Energy Market (REM). Consultation on the updated rules has been administered concurrently by AESO, Alberta’s Independent System Operator (ISO) and primary electricity market regulator. Bill 8 provides the basic outline for REM ISO rules.
Data centres require an extreme amount of energy to operate. There are ongoing concerns that any established centres may excessively draw from the municipal pool creating a price shock and, or, drain energy reserves as more energy generation is required for the municipality to continue to operate.
Bill 8 gives AESO the ability to monitor, audit, regulate, and sanction data centres and their operators. Bill 8 also lays out the basic framework for the creation of in situ – or on-site – energy generation, as well as the rules guiding the integration of in situ energy generation with the municipal grid. Data centre project proponents will also be responsible for any costs associated with necessary upgrades to the electrical transmission systems.
Bill 8 passed its first reading on November 25.
Bill 10 – Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 (NO. 2)
Honourable Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction
Bill 10 amends several pieces of legislation to varying degrees. Contrary to its namesake, the Red Tape Reduction Statues Amendment Act, 2025 (NO.2) adds several significant amendments to the captured acts. While the changes may add some level of clarification, it also ensures that certain aspects are now prescribed, potentially changing the nature of the issue of red tape rather than correcting it.
Changes include the extension of ministerial power onto private lands that are captured under an all-seasons resort development, the increase of powers to filter frivolous licencing complaints related to land agents, and an increase in potential government uses of information obtained through the collection of a person’s driver’s licence.
By far, the most significant amendments were made to the Livestock Industry Diversification Act. Bill 10 opens the door to keeping livestock on a “harvest preserve,” an area designated for the act of pen hunting – or hunting within a defined and enclosed area.
The government states that the change allows deer and elk producers to provide a unique experience to consumers that will provide much needed revenue to the industry. However, significant concerns were raised over the likely increased risk of the spread of livestock diseases such as chronic wasting disease (CWD), a pattern that is common to pen hunting in other jurisdictions.
While there have been confirmed cases of CWD in Alberta, CWD is hard to trace and control once it has infected a population. CWD can also only be confirmed be examining killed elk or deer, and there are concerns that Alberta does not have the capacity to test penned elk and deer to the extent necessary.
Bill 10 passed its first reading on November 17. A vote on the second reading has been adjourned three times between November 19 and 26.
Bill 203 – Energy Storage Planning for Investment Act, 2025
Honourable Nagwan Al-Guneid, Member for Calgary-Glenmore
Bill 203 aims to establish a coordinated plan for energy storage in Alberta. This Bill was created in response to expressed concerns over the price of electricity, and future worries that prices may increase dramatically as capacity is taxed by planned AI data centres. The private members’ Bill would also establish regulatory criteria around long-duration storage, mineral extraction, and development for the creation of batteries.
Arguably, Bill 203 fits within the Alberta Government’s goal to modernize and stabilize Alberta’s electricity grid and attract investment. Debate on the private members’ Bill has been comparably cordial; however, there have been critiques levelled that implementation of the Bill’s requirements may slow down production that has already been approved.
Bill 203 passed its first reading on November 18.
Other Notable Legislative Action
Bill 1 – International Agreements Act, 2025
Right Honourable Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta
Bill 1 is a short piece of legislation that seeks to affirm in Alberta law the recognized legal principle that no international agreement is actionable within the jurisdiction of the agreeing parties until the local government affirms it.
Bill 1 would prevent any international agreement signed onto by the federal government that touches matters within provincial jurisdiction from becoming binding in Alberta unless the Alberta Legislature explicitly implements it.
Although Canadian law distinguishes between international agreements with other countries and constitutionally protected treaties with Indigenous nations, Bill 1 does not address this distinction. As written, it could allow Alberta to avoid required consultations with Indigenous peoples on matters affecting Treaty obligations, raising significant legal and constitutional issues.
Supporters argue the Bill merely reinforces Alberta’s jurisdiction and is not meant to infringe Indigenous rights. A proposed amendment to explicitly recognize and protect Indigenous Treaty rights under the Constitution Act – intended to provide legal clarity and reduce the risk of constitutional challenges – was rejected. A second, simpler amendment affirming Indigenous constitutional rights was also voted down, despite its potential to strengthen the Bill against future legal scrutiny.
Bill 1 passed its third reading, unamended, and received royal assent on November 26.
Bill 3 – Private Vocational Training Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Myles McDougall, Minister of Advanced Education
Bill 3 aims to strengthen Alberta’s vocational training sector and improve protections for students attending private vocational (trade) schools. It modernizes the Private Vocational Training Act by expanding its scope to cover any institution offering vocational training, with the definition of such training to be set by regulation for greater flexibility and adaptiveness.
Schools will now be required to register with the Alberta government and obtain a special licence to teach students. These licences come with regulatory oversight and requirements that must be met for retention, regulations that more closely align with other Provinces. The Act also establishes a Student Protection Fund to provide direct financial support to vocational students throughout their education careers.
While the Bill emphasizes alignment with Alberta’s labour market needs, it remains unclear how those needs will be measured or evaluated. There were also concerns raised over the prioritization of funding towards vocational school at the expense of traditional colleges and universities. While no party argued that the protection fund was a bad idea, there was significant discussion allocated to scope, amounts provided, and how to supplement the fund in consideration of often fluid and quickly changing market priorities.
Bill 3 passed its third reading on November 19 and received Royal Assent on November 26.
Bill 5 – Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Joseph Schow, Minister of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration
Bill 5 makes several important corrective changes to nine different Acts including the Access to Information Act, the Alberta Heritage Scholarship Act, the Automobile Insurance Act, the Bee Act, the Labour Relations Code, the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, the Protection of Privacy Act, the Vital Statistics Act, and the Weed Control Act. Most changes clarify language or correct previously uncorrected errors.
Bill 5 has been approved by the Committee of the Whole and awaits its third reading.
Bill 6 – Education (Prioritizing Literacy and Numeracy) Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education and Childcare
Bill 6 has been presented by the Alberta Government as a means to ensure all students have the strong learning foundation required to succeed in school and beyond. If passed, Bill 6 would amend the Education Act to legislate literacy and numeracy screening assessments as part of the regular curriculum for kindergarten through grade 3.
The literacy and numeracy assessments would be a provincially supplied assessment examination that would provide an opportunity to screen students according to their demonstrated potential. All information related to the assessment is run through the ministry for evaluation.
Standardized testing – as literacy and numeracy assessments appear to be – have been common in jurisdictions such as the US for the past two decades. Alberta has long used standardized test for senior grades, but standardized testing for younger grades is new.
The use of standardized testing has been heavily criticized as a method of evaluation for younger students. They often fail to predict long-term academic potential and tend to overlook forms of intelligence not easily measured through traditional exams. They may also add stress for teachers who must administer them, further increasing an already strenuous workload. Additionally, the current proposal does not appear to include exemptions or accommodations for students who require extra or specialized support.
There was extensive debate on the contents of Bill 6; no amendments were made during this time.
Bill 6 passed the second reading, on division across party lines, on November 25.
Bill 9 – Protecting Alberta’s Children Statutes Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Mickey Amery, Minister of Justice
Bill 9 inserts the notwithstanding clause (NWC, or s. 33 of the Charter) into the Education Act, Fairness in Safety and Sport Act(FSSA), and Health Professions Act (HPA) to protect provisions that discriminate against trans, gender diverse, and female students and athletes from legal challenge and judicial scrutiny.
The NWC allows governments to pass laws that are likely to violate fundamental rights and freedoms enumerated in section 2, 7, and 15 in the Charter. These include the right of freedom of expression and association, and freedom from discrimination on the basis of enumerated categories such as sex, age, race, religion, etc.
Bill 9 protects provisions in the Education Act that prevents student organizations based around providing sex education or associated with sexual orientation or gender identity, requires school receive parental consent to call a student by a preferred name, and require parental consent to provide sex education to a student.
Bill 9 protects the FSSA in its entirety. The FSSA requires all sports organizations to require proof of gender by way of birth certificate for participation in female leagues. Approved policy is required to receive Provincial funding.
Finally, Bill 9 protects provisions in the HPA that prohibit gender-affirming care through surgery or hormone therapy for persons under the age of majority irrespective of a doctor’s opinion or parental consent.
The protected provisions have been subject to extensive debate in the public sphere. By invoking the NWC, the Alberta Government has effectively shielded the provision from being struck down as a result of a constitutional challenge – an outcome that legal experts largely predicted would be likely.
Bill 9 passed its first reading on November 18. Debate preceding the vote on second reading has been extensive and continuous since.
Bill 11 – Health Statues Amendment Act, 2025 (NO. 2)
Honourable Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services
Bill 11 is an extensive bill that purports to modernize Alberta’s healthcare system by allowing physicians to practice in both public and private sectors. The Government argues that the Bill will help attract and retain healthcare professionals in Alberta, emphasizing the model’s adoption in some European countries.
The Bill effectively attempts to create the framework that establishes and outlines requirements for physicians and medical professionals to participate in a private healthcare system. This separate and distinct system will run alongside the already established public healthcare system.
Bill 11 – and, indeed, the concept of private healthcare on its own – is incredibly controversial in Canadian circles. Proponents of the Bill have been heavily critiqued for ignoring known drawback of private systems including implementation precluding an overall decreased level of care, increased costs associated with providing care, a drain on public systems that must remain open, increased strain on healthcare professionals that work in the public system, and an overall decrease in reliability of the healthcare system as a whole – both public and private. Accordingly, debate on the matter has been heated.
Bill 11 passed the first reading on November 24.
Bill 201 – Employment Standards (Protecting Workers’ Pay) Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Kathleen Ganley, Member
Bill 201 has been tabled in the context of the affordability crisis and Alberta’s new designation of having the lowest minimum wage in Canada. Bill 201 would steadily increase the minimum wage over the next few years while also adding protections for employees that earn tips.
Bill 201 would raise the minimum wage in stages: to $16 per hour upon proclamation, $17 per hour in October 2026, and $18 per hour in October 2027. From 2028 onwards, the minimum pay would be subject to a calculation that accounts for inflation from year to year. The minimum wage would also be required to be uniform across age groups, meaning employers could not pay legal minors a lower rate than other employees.
Tips would also no longer to considered part of an employee’s wage for the purpose of payment for work. Employers would also be prohibited from withholding or deducting tips earned from an employee’s pay, and from using tips earned to pay other employees. Any pooling of tips must be expressly agreed upon by the employees and cannot be forced upon an employee for the purpose of employment.
Bill 201 was defeated at the second reading on November 17.
Bill 202 – Conflicts of Interest (Ethical Governance) Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Kyle Kasawski, Member for Sherwood Park
Bill 202 – nicknamed the ‘no-more-skyboxes bill – seeks to enhance the ethical governance of Alberta’s government by introducing stricter rules on gifts and political influence. This Bill comes after the release of Order in Council 337/2025 which allows the Premier’s Office to approve the acceptance of gifts and other benefits where the amount exceeds $500.
Bill 202 clarifies and strengthens the language of the Conflicts of Interest Act in an effort to prevent perceived or actual conflicts of interest that arise through the acceptance of gifts, benefits, or funds by members of the legislature or their families.
Bill 202 was defeated along party lines on its second reading on November 24.
Standing and Select Special Committee Meetings
November 27:
Standing Committee on Members’ Services
December 2:
Standing Committee on Public Accounts
Ian Profiri
Policy & Research Analyst
825.319.2352
ian@rmalberta.com
Wyatt Skovron
General Manager of Policy & Advocacy
780.955.4096
wyatt@rmalberta.com