Alberta's surging population has the provincial government planning to add more seats to the legislature. Justice Minister Mickey Amery has introduced a bill that calls for the creation of two additional electoral districts to bring the new total to 89 ahead of the 2027 general election. Amery says the decision is driven by Alberta's recent population growth, which is now at almost five million. Government figures show that nine of Alberta's current 87 constituencies are overpopulated, and Amery says having two additional representatives in the legislative assembly will improve voter

Alberta premier Danielle Smith is not holding back in response to the federal government’s planned oil and gas emissions cap. Ottawa unveiled details Monday on how it plans to cut emissions from the oil and gas sector fulfilling a 2021 election promise from the Liberals to force the oil and gas industry to do its share in battling climate change. The new regulations will require producers in Canada to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about one-third over the next eight years. In a news conference in response to the plan, a clearly angry Smith called the plan a “production cap” that will

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith received 91.5 per cent support from her United Conservative Party members in a leadership review vote at its annual convention. While there is no mandated minimum level of level needed in such a vote, Smith's predecessor Jason Kenney received 51 per cent support in 2022 and resigned as a result. Smith had said she was hoping to gain more than the 54 per cent support she received when she won the party leadership election in 2022. Past conservative Alberta premiers Ed Stelmach and Alison Redford received 77 per cent in their leadership votes before b

The federal government says Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's application for a judicial review of Ottawa's carbon levy is nothing more than political posturing. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Justice Minister Arif Virani say it's disappointing, but not surprising, that Smith is engaging in a ``political stunt'' ahead of her United Conservative Party leadership review this weekend. They say the temporary exemption for home heating oil is meant to give time to switch to cheaper forms of home heating and that the Supreme Court has signed off on the legality of the levy.

A new bill aimed at strengthening child care safety in Alberta will be tabled in the Legislature on Wednesday. Several child care centres across the province have been subjected to closures in months past for varying health and safety violations. In August, three calgary daycare programs were forced to close their doors after the government said they posed an “imminent danger” to the health and safety of kids. Earlier this month, two daycares in Edmonton were closed over safety concerns. The province has said compliance issues are often found through routine inspections of licensed child

Premier Danielle Smith says Alberta has applied for a judicial review of Ottawa's exemption of the carbon levy on home heating oil. She says it's "blatantly" unfair to Albertans who rely on natural gas to heat their homes and that relief can’t wait with cold winter weather coming. Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery says it took about a year for the province to assemble its legal argument and he expects it to take another year to work its way through court. Amery says providing a benefit to those who use heating oil, predominantly in Atlantic Canada, undermines what's supposed to be a nati

The Alberta government is proposing changes to the provincial Bill of Rights aimed at giving residents the right to refuse medical treatments, including vaccines. But there would be exemptions around whether the person has the capacity to consent, and if they are likely to harm themselves or others. Justice Minister Mickey Amery says the United Conservative government wants to make it clear no one will be forced to receive a treatment they don't want. But Premier Danielle Smith says the legislation is worded in such a way that it wouldn't conflict with the U-C-P's plans to allow polic

The federal government says Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan haven’t formally responded to an offer of funding to tackle homelessness. But Alberta’s minister in charge of the file says the province isn't saying no and his officials have been actively meeting with Ottawa on the file.Ottawa committed $250 million over two yearsin its budget to provide more shelter spaces, transitional homes, harm reduction spaces and services.Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser said in a Tuesday statement that the three provinces have yet to officially get on board.Fraser said he reached out with a Sept. 1

The Alberta government has announced 250 units of interim housing for Jasper, Alta., residents displaced by a wildfire this summer. Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon says the housing will cost the province $112 million, and the units will be rented at or near market rates. The July wildfire destroyed one-third of the tourist town's structures, including more than 800 units of housing. Nixon says it's still being determined how many of the interim housing units will be single occupancy and how many will be designed for families. Mayor Richard Ireland says the ne