These bulletins summarize and explain the important and relevant details of potential and upcoming legislation in Alberta, including notable Orders in Council and important and poignant points from the debates between elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) as they create law.
After the release of Budget 2026, Legislature took a week to breathe, relax, and ponder the benefits, faults, and potential implications of what was proposed. RMA released our initial analysis shortly after the budget was made public, while MLAs took a measured approach as the debates began. Once proceedings resumed, however, discussions quickly shifted from cautious to pointed and heated.
While Government MLAs pointed to increased investments in urgently needed schools and provisions for long-term expansions of the Local Government Fiscal Framework, Opposition MLAs emphasized reductions across major program areas and questioned past spending decisions that dramatically shifted Alberta from a surplus to a deficit – issues that carry direct implications for municipal service delivery and long-term fiscal stability.
The Legislature also saw extensive discussion following the unanimous vote of nonconfidence issued by the Assembly of Treaty Chiefs (AOTC). The AOTCs declaration raised concerns regarding the Government of Alberta’s failure to uphold Treaty rights and constitutional obligations, and criticized what it described as the promotion of ignorance, intolerance, and a “separatist agenda.” The AOTC, representing Treaty 6, 7, and 8 First Nations, serves as a collaborative forum for open dialogue on matters related to First Nations rights and provincial decision-making in Alberta.
Opposition MLAs pressed the Premier on what they characterized as an inadequate and dismissive response to serious constitutional concerns. In reply, both the Premier and the Minister of Indigenous Relations iterated that any discussion about Alberta’s future must occur within the constitutional framework and in partnership with Indigenous leadership. Various Alberta First Nations Chiefs were present throughout the week’s proceedings, frequently voicing their frustrations with Government during question period.
Other visitors to the Legislature included His Excellency Andrii Plakhotniuk, the ambassador of Ukraine to Canada, members of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, representatives of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce, and several junior and high school classes.
Members’ Issues and Related Bills or Activities
Bill 17 – Fiscal Measures Statutes Amendment Act, 2026
Honourable Nate Horner, President of Treasury Board and Finance
Bill 17 amends seven pieces of legislation related to Budget 2026, including consolidation of caregiver supports, increasing the tourism levy, and amending the levy calculation for computer equipment in data centres. Minister Horner introduced the Bill calling it a disciplined plan that sets clear priorities in an effort to deliver real results for Albertans.
Bill 17 removes the off-grid exemption for power supply of data centres in the Alberta Corporate Tax Act, effectively reversing a previous amendment that encouraged grid power use. In its place, the Bill introduces a formula that applies levies to the amount of grid electricity consumed in a calendar year. The Government presents this amendment as a clarification: that the levy rate for data centres will be based on actual grid usage, and that only onsite generation will qualify for a 0% rate. The change is intended to reduce costs associated with onsite power production and may increase incentives for data centres to invest in their own energy generation capacity.
The Bill would increase Alberta’s tourism levy rate from 4% to 6%. After March 31, this higher rate will be applied to the purchase price of hotel, motel, hostel, and similar temporary lodging accommodations in Alberta. If current trends in hospitality and tourism continue, the increased levy is projected to generate an additional $66 million in revenue for the 2026 fiscal year.
Bill 17 will consolidate existing caregiver and infirm dependant credits into a single item, what the Government calls the Alberta Caregiver Credit (ACC). The ACC will apply to adult individuals who provide care for individuals who are mentally or physically infirm, inclusive of partners and dependants. The ACC is reduced as the dependant earns income and effectively disappears once they make about a full year’s worth of minimum wage earnings, meaning the amount is tied to the individual’s income and capped at roughly minimum wage levels. The consolidation also removes previous criteria that permitted credit for those supporting elderly but not infirm parents or grandparents.
The Bill also revises and modernizes language in the Employment Pensions Plan Act to algin with federal pension plan amendments and other provincial frameworks, increases organizational security measures in the Loan and Trust Corporations Act to prevent conflicts of interest and improve business practices, add emerging best oversight practices for credit unions to the Credit Union Act, and officially removes mention of the former Child and Youth Support Program from the Child Youth and Family Enhancement Act after the program was discontinued in September of 2025.
Bill 17 passed its first reading on March 10.
Bill 15 – Public Safety and Emergency Services Statutes Amendment Act, 2026
Honourable Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services
Bill 15 represents a major step toward establishing a provincial police force by amending the Police Act to allow the Minister to transfer Alberta employees, including the roughly 600 sheriffs currently performing policelike duties, into the new Alberta Sheriffs Police Services (ASPS).
The Government argues this authority will support a smooth transition as the existing sheriff structure is wound down and ASPS is built out. While the Minister maintains that training and qualification requirements will be addressed, the legislation itself focuses primarily on transferring staff into comparable roles, leaving open questions about how training will be funded and whether communities may experience policing capacity gaps during and after the transition.
Both parties acknowledged the significant challenges facing rural policing, including recruitment shortages, difficult to access areas, slower response times, and the growing financial burden on municipalities to sustain existing police services.
Government MLAs argued that the ASPS – once fully implemented – would be better positioned than current RCMP detachments to address these pressures.
Opposition MLAs countered that creating the ASPS is an unnecessary and costly workaround when comparable resources already exist within the RCMP; they suggested strengthening existing services would be more efficient. The Opposition also raised concerns about the higher per officer cost of training a smaller ASPS cohort and the potential for inefficient use of public funds, issues compounded by what they described as a lack of communication between existing policing options and the Minister.
Bill 15 swiftly passed its second reading on February 25. Debate on Bill 15 has been delayed due to the release of Budget 2026. The Bill has gone to the Committee of the Whole for evaluation and possible amendment.
Other Notable Legislative Action
Bill 16 – Traveller Protection and Destination Development Act, 2025
Honourable Andrew Boitchenko, Minister of Tourism and Sport
Bill 16 creates a new Act – the Traveller Protection and Destination Development Act – which aims bring a level of certainty to specific tourism fees and costs in Alberta’s tourism sector.
The Act does two things: (1) it allows the Minister to create zones within which a specified destination marketing fee may be levied by hotels onto customers, and (2) forces hotels operating within Alberta to disclose all fees and charges at the time of booking an accommodation or experience.
Destination marketing fees are charges collected by hotels and pooled into a fund used for promotion, marketing, and tourism development. The Act gives the Minister authority to set the fee amount in designated areas and adds new auditing requirements to ensure the fees are properly tracked.
The Act would require hotels to disclose all mandatory fees – including the destination marketing fee – and charges at the time of booking. The Act also requires hotels to disclose the purpose of each mandatory fee and charge before the transaction is completed. Including how the funds will be used.
While the regulation of this aspect of the tourism industry will likely add certainty to travellers, it also removes the ability for local groups that have entered a destination marketing fee sharing organization to control this aspect of resource pooling, potentially restricting the ability to use the collected funds efficiently and effectively.
Bill 16 passed its first reading on February 25. Debate on Bill 15 has been delayed due to the release of Budget 2026.
Bill 204 – Public Interest Disclosure (Publicly Funded Health Entity Whistleblower Protection) Act, 2025
Honourable Heather Sweet, Member for Edmonton-Manning
Bill 204 would have significantly expanded whistleblower protections to all employees of publicly-funded health services by safeguarding those who disclosed credible information about potential wrongdoing within the organization.
Introduced in the context of the ongoing “Corrupt Care” scandal – allegations of corruption, political interference, and coercion involving former AHS officials and now under RCMP investigation – the Bill defines wrongdoing to include breaches of legal duties, threats to health or safety, environmental harm, gross mismanagement of public funds, and failures related to the delivery of public health services.
Opposition MLAs who supported Bill 204 emphasized that extending these protections would help ensure public health entities can function effectively by allowing employees to report concerns without fear of retaliation. Government MLAs did not speak to the Bill during the brief debate in the Legislature.
Bill 204 was defeated on division on its second reading on March 9.
Orders in Council
Order in Council 077/2026 – Honourable Grant Hunter, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas
OIC 077/2026 proclaims the Water Amendment Act – or Bill 7 – officially enacting the amendments held within. RMA recently provided a Member Resource explaining the amendments and their effects on rural municipalities.
Order in Council 080/2026 – Honourable Todd Lowen, Minister of Forestry and Parks
OIC 080/2026 greatly expands the list of primary timber products for the purpose of Forests Act, the guiding legislation for the protection and utilization of Alberta’s forests and forest resources, while placing more regulatory responsibility on licence holders to comply with the regulations. This includes affirming compliance on an annual, rather than semi-annual, basis. The director managing the implementation of the Forests Act is also granted a larger array of powers to cancel operating or reforestation programs where a noncompliance is discovered. Additionally, the definition of “pulp” has been atomized to explicitly include chemi-thermomechanical and kraft pulp to the exclusion of other types. Both listed types make up the vast majority of pulp manufacturing in Alberta.
Order in Council 083/2026 – Honourable Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta
OIC 082/2026 extends the heating oil and propane rebate program through March 2031.
Standing and Select Special Committee Meetings
March 16:
Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future
March 16:
Standing Committee on Families and Communities
March 17:
Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship
Ian Profiri
Policy & Research Analyst
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Wyatt Skovron
General Manager of Policy & Advocacy
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