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- Premier Danielle Smith has completed the legal restructuring of the province’s health system in 2025, replacing Alberta Health Services with four new agencies overseeing hospital care, continuing care, mental health and addiction, and primary health. Smith plans to use 2026 to demonstrate the results of the reforms, including a public dashboard tracking wait times and 1,500 new continuing care spaces annually. Expanding nurse practitioners’ ability to open practices aims to improve primary care access. Smith defends the changes as necessary to reduce bureaucracy, but critics, including the NDP, argue the restructuring has created chaos for front-line workers and contributes to instability in government. Smith has emphasized accountability and the optimization of the new health agencies as central to her government’s priorities.
- Alberta Indigenous Relations Minister Rajan Sawhney says support for a proposed new West Coast oil pipeline among First Nations is currently mixed, estimating it at about evenly split between support and concern. She argues that opposition from outspoken groups will not delay Alberta’s plan to submit a pipeline proposal to the federal Major Projects Office by mid-2026, with deeper consultation to follow afterward. Sawhney says many communities are not outright opposed but are seeking answers about safety, spill risks, and modern tanker and pipeline technology. She maintains that no single organization speaks for all Indigenous communities along a potential route and emphasizes the importance of direct, in-person engagement. The project would require an exemption from the federal oil tanker ban on BC’s northwest coast and has already drawn resistance from some coastal First Nations groups.
- UCP MLA Rebecca Schulz has resigned from Alberta’s cabinet, where she was serving as Minister of Environment and Protected Areas. She will remain the MLA for Calgary-Shaw only until May 2026. Schulz said the decision was about timing and pursuing new career opportunities. Her departure has fuelled speculation that Premier Danielle Smith may call an early provincial election, though Alberta’s fixed election date is in 2027. Smith thanked Schulz for her service and appointed Grant Hunter as the new environment minister, with Justin Wright becoming government whip. Schulz says she will continue supporting the UCP and hopes to be remembered as a strong advocate for economic growth and fiscal responsibility.
- The National Police Federation has criticized the Alberta Next Panel’s recommendation to create a provincial police service, arguing that Albertans are more concerned with issues like health care and education than changing policing. The panel’s report recommends establishing the Alberta Police Service (APS) and transitioning community policing from the RCMP and municipal services to the new agency, while ensuring current RCMP staff have employment opportunities. Alberta RCMP Deputy Commissioner Trevor Daroux emphasized that policing decisions rest with the Province and that the RCMP will continue serving roughly 40% of Albertans across 95% of the province. Daroux noted recruitment and retention challenges but highlighted that more than 4,600 applications have led to additional officers and civilian positions since April 2024. Alberta has already passed legislation, including the Public Safety and Emergency Services Statutes Amendment Act 2025, to support the new Alberta Sheriffs Police Service (ASPS). Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said more legislation is expected and the government is reviewing the panel’s recommendations to improve public safety and give municipalities more policing options.
- Premier Danielle Smith says Calgary’s second major break of the Bearspaw south feeder water main in under two years highlights a failure of oversight, and suggested that the Province may need to take a more active role in supervising the city’s water system. Smith placed responsibility on former Calgary Mayor and current NDP leader Naheed Nenshi, claiming he did not act after the 2013 floods to inspect the feeder main, a claim Nenshi called “total garbage.” Smith indicated provincial oversight could include issuing repair orders and linking future funding to greater control over the system. Calgary has lost over 20% of water to leaks in recent years, well above the provincial goal of 10%.