The final sitting of the spring session saw a rush of legislative action as the members of the legislative assembly sought to conclude some significant matters before the break. The legislative assembly will not formally meet again until the next session begins on October 27, 2025.
The Assembly also elected the new Speaker of the Alberta Legislature – the Honourable Ric McIver. McIver leaves his position as the Minister of Municipal Affairs, having formally resigned the ministerial position after being elected to his new role on Tuesday morning. Current Minister of Tourism and Sport, Joseph Schow, will replace McIver on an interim basis until a new Minister is appointed.
Members’ Issues and Related Bills or Activities
Bill 45 – Critical Infrastructure Defence Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Mickey Amery, Minister of Justice
Bill 45 is a simple bill that (1) updates the definition of “essential infrastructure” – infrastructure and land protected from protest and unlawful entering under the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act (CIDA) – to include a two-kilometre-deep area on the US-Canada border and all oil and gas production facilities; and (2) applies the CIDA prohibition on entering essential infrastructure to the Government of Canada. The latter is an action widely considered likely to be unlawful as it would infringe upon the rights granted by the Constitution to the Federal government in sections 91 and 92 (the division of powers).
Bill 45 passed its third reading, on division, on May 12 and has been submitted to the Lieutenant Governor to receive Royal Assent and become law.
Bill 46 – Information and Privacy Statutes Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Nate Glubish, Minister of Technology and Innovation
Bill 46 updates administrative changes provided in both the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) and the Access to Information Act (ATIA) as Alberta seeks to replace the outdated Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The debate over Bill 46 comes as the GOA was disciplined by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta for illegally preventing the dissemination of government information to the public.
Bill 46 clarifies how privacy protections apply to data derived from personal information while aligning language across the POPA and ATIA. Bill 46 clarifies that non-personal data and data derived from personal information must still comply with privacy rules under POPA and are not subject to access requests under ATIA.
Bill 46 also gives considerable power to the Minister to modify or change any existing regulations that may interact with these privacy Acts. Often referred to as a “Henry VIII clause,” the proposed amendments give the relevant minister considerable power to change any regulation without public scrutiny, debate, or opposition.
Bill 46 passed its third reading, on division, on May 13 and has been submitted to the Lieutenant Governor to receive Royal Assent and become law.
Bill 49 – Public Safety and Emergency Services Statutes Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services
Amending several acts, Bill 49 takes significant steps towards establishing a provincial police force in Alberta while modifying the management of emergencies within the Province.
Bill 49 amends the Police Act to allow for the creation of independent police forces that Alberta municipalities may opt to use, replacing current RCMP detachments. RMA maintains that these independent police services should not be implemented until there has been substantial consultation and quantifiable, significant, majority support from municipalities and Albertans for independent police forces in Alberta.
The Emergency Management Act outlines and delineates the powers and processes available to municipalities and the GOA in the event of a declared emergency. Bill 49 introduces amendments that recognize and emphasize individual and property rights during an emergency; narrows the definition of emergency to one that is “sudden and temporary”; requires the Minister to consult with the Premier, Cabinet, or a committee before exercising Provincial authority; and requires the GOA to publish all relevant orders.
RMA recently analyzed Bill 49 and created a resource that details all the changes made.
Bill 49 was approved by the Committee of the Whole on May 13, and now moves towards the third reading. As the Assembly will not meet again till October 27, there is significant time to engage with the Minister and representatives before Bill 49 becomes law.
Bill 50 – Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Ric McIver, former Minister of Municipal Affairs
Bill 50 modifies four pieces of legislation relevant to municipalities in Alberta: the Local Authorities Election Act, the Municipal Government Act, the New Home Buyer Protection Act, and the Safety Codes Act.
The Bill makes significant changes to the intermunicipal collaboration framework process, repeals all municipal codes of conduct, and introduces a funding scheme for municipal parties during an election that greatly increases the amounts available to party-affiliated candidates. The Bill also changes significant aspects of the practice, administration, and recall of chief administrative officers (CAOs).
Of significant concern was the reporting requirements of the exercise of CAOs’ natural person powers. Natural person powers are legislative powers granted to the office that permits the office to legally act as a natural person, including all the rights, capacities, and privileges afforded to individual human beings.
Natural person powers could potentially include every action a CAO may perform in the exercise of their role. This includes signing contracts, ordering materials, hiring staff, allocating funds, and an expansive myriad of other activities.
An amendment was passed by the Assembly on May 12 that allowed the Minister to regulate the reporting requirements of CAOs’ exercise of their natural person powers. This should, presumably, narrow the reporting requirements of CAOs; however, details are currently unknown about the extent and breadth of potential regulations.
RMA recently conducted a detailed analysis of Bill 50. Numerous questions were raised by our members; RMA is actively seeking clarification from the Minister on several issues.
Bill 50 passed its third reading, on division, on May 13 and has been submitted to the Lieutenant Governor to receive Royal Assent and become law.
Bill 55 – Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health
Bill 55 is an omnibus bill that amends 50 bills and affects 19 ministries, significantly reforming the health care system in Alberta.
Among this significant list of changes, the Bill moves all health functions out of Alberta Health Services (AHS) – the quasi-independent government agency currently responsible for providing care to Albertans – into other agencies, including some that are under ministerial control.
Medical Officers of Health (MOH) and public health inspectors will no longer have to report to AHS; instead, they will be required to report directly to Alberta Health, one arm of the Ministry. A new agency – Primary Care Alberta – would take over newborn screenings, disease control, immunizations, and health promotion programs from AHS. Generally, there will be a significant number of decision-making powers concentrated within the GOA and the Ministry. MOHs and the Chief Medical Officer, for example, will now need Ministerial approval on decisions made during declared Provincial emergencies.
Bill 55 also introduces “hospital operators” into the lexicon of health legislation. This individual is an appointee of the Ministry, is responsible to the Ministry, and is responsible for delivery of hospital services. The hospital operator would be granted significant control over the management and delivery of hospital services, including the possible introduction of privatized delivery, if approved by the Ministry.
Critics – including the Canadian Public Health Association and Alberta Public Health Association – are concerned that the restructuring will unnecessarily introduce political considerations into health-related decision-making processes. There are also concerns that the fragmentation of responsibility for specific medical issues will only introduce confusion and miscommunication into what has become an increasingly stressed healthcare system.
Bill 55 passed its second reading, on division and after limited debate, on May 12. Debate continued through May 15, but was ultimately adjourned until the next session in October.
Other Notable Legislative Action
Bill 47 – Automobile Insurance Act, 2025
Honourable Nate Horner, Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board
Bill 47 introduces no-fault collision insurance into the Albertan vehicle insurance scheme. Critics note that the scheme may move significant funds from the insured to private companies without the corresponding and adequate coverage, and that the removal of the judiciary in favour of an arbitrator may result in unjust awards being granted.
The reliance on arbitration, while lauded as another mechanism that may free up courts, removes legal protections from the insured. There is a growing concern that the application of regulations may become unjust, and increase expenses for insured parties seeking to challenge arbitrator decisions or the decisions of insurance companies.
Several amendments were proposed including: changing the name of the type of insurance from “care-first” to “no-fault”; allowing recourse to litigation for insured parties intentionally injured; and introducing legislated requirements for tribunal members, including having significant practice in injury law. All amendments failed.
Bill 47 passed its third reading, on division, on May 13. Bill 47 has now been submitted to the Lieutenant Governor to receive Royal Assent and become law.
Bill 51 – Education Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education
Bill 51 updates the Education Act in several significant ways. Bill 51 changes the language of the Act to recognize “independent schools” – a designation replacing “private schools” – within Alberta, removes some duplicative reporting processes, and prevents the removal of school board trustees who breach an applicable code of conduct by the school board alone.
School board trustees that breach the school board code of conduct would only be removed if the recall process is followed through to completion. A recall vote is initiated after 40% of the voters in a trustee’s ward sign a recall petition; this is then followed by an election vote. An impugned trustee would remain on the board until they lose the following election vote.
Bill 51 passed its third reading, on division, on May 12 and has been submitted to the Lieutenant Governor to receive Royal Assent and become law.
Bill 53 – Compassionate Intervention Act, 2025
Honourable Dan Williams, Minister of Mental Health and Addiction
Bill 53 was introduced in response to the “public addiction crisis” currently growing in Alberta. The Bill would allow adult family members, guardians, healthcare professionals, and police to request a treatment order for those with addiction or substance-abuse issues and are a danger to themselves or others.
The Act would allow the internment of these individuals in a secure-treatment facility for three to six months without their consent. The GOA says that the Act aims to keep communities safe while ensuring vulnerable people have access to recovery supports.
The debate emphasized the care provided to members of Indigenous communities, communities that have been hit particularly hard by addiction-related deaths. Several amendments to Bill 53 were proposed, including the removal of unregulated addiction counsellors from the hearing process, the prescription of legal council in hearings, a requirement that a person’s unique experiences as an Indigenous person are considered, and implementing a legislated review of the scheme once every three years – these were all voted down.
Bill 52 passed its third reading on May 12, and has been submitted to the Lieutenant Governor to receive Royal Assent and become law.
Bill 54 – Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Mickey Amery, Minister of Justice
Bill 54 is an omnibus bill that seeks to reform seven election-related laws in Alberta. These changes include banning electronic and out-of-riding ballots, expanding special ballot use, eliminating voter vouching, requiring vote counts within 12 hours of polls closing, loosening election advertising restrictions, and allowing corporate and union political donations while raising donation limits. The amendments would also ease the process for citizen-initiated referendums.
The government argues these changes will enhance transparency and align democratic processes. However, critics warn that the reforms could undermine electoral fairness by increasing the influence of wealthier donors and making donation sources harder to track.
There was extensive debate on Bill 54, but was adjourned on May 13. Debate on the Bill will continue next session.
Bill 212 – Organ and Tissue Donor Information Agreement Act, 2025
Honourable Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health
Bill 212 is a simple bill that would have required the GOA to seek an agreement with the Canada Revenue Agency to give Albertans the opportunity to consent through their tax return for their contact information to be shared with appropriate organ and tissue registries.
Albertans that opted in under this regime would then be allowed to be contacted about possible organ donation processes and the ability to volunteer to become an organ donor. The decision to donate one’s organs is a worthy and humble one; however, Bill 212 has been criticized as redundant in the Alberta health system.
Bill 212 was ultimately defeated on Monday, May 12.
This is the final Legislative Update of the spring session. Legislative Update will return on October 31, 2025.
Standing and Select Special Committee Meetings
October 14:
Standing Committee on Public Accounts – Review of Processes to Assess and Manage the Condition of Affordable Housing Report
October 28:
Standing Committee on Public Accounts – Indigenous Relations
Ian Profiri
Policy & Research Analyst
825.319.2352
ian@rmalberta.com
Wyatt Skovron
General Manager of Policy & Advocacy
780.955.4096
wyatt@rmalberta.com