Monday, September 15: The UCP government announces that drivers licenses and ID cards, starting in 2026, will include the holder’s citizenship status. Alberta is the first province to mandate such “citizenship markers.”Read More: Should Voting be Mandatory?
September 15: With a possible public teacher strike set for October 6, the provincial government files a complaint with the Labour Relations Board against the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA), alleging that the ATA made false claims. In response, the ATA says “the government is wasting time on legal maneuvers and public smears.”
Read More: The Year of Bargaining Diplomatically
Tuesday, September 16: The provincial government announces WorkFirst, a suite of services to “connect Albertans to jobs and employers to skilled job seekers.” A tool to match employers and potential employees will launch in 2026.
Read More: False Advertising?
Thursday, September 18: In an interview with the Edmonton Journal,Alberta’s jobs, economy, trade and immigration minister, Joseph Schow, says the federal temporary foreign worker program “needs to be repealed and replaced.” This statement comes after premier Danielle Smith in a new mandate letter issued this week directed the minister to use “every legal and policy tool to gain greater control of provincial authority over immigration.”
Read More: More Than Cheap Labour
Thursday, September 18: A government memo leaked to The Canadian Press shows that premier Danielle Smith has directed officials to invoke the notwithstanding clause in amending three laws that affect the names or pronouns students can use in schools, restrict transgender girls’ participation in amateur sports and set limits on gender-affirming healthcare. The notwithstanding clause allows the province to override sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for up to five years.
Read More: Stripping Away Rights
Friday, September 19: The Alberta government announces that construction of the Maskêkosihk Recovery Community, a 75-bed facility on Enoch Cree Nation, is “about halfway complete, with addiction treatment expected to begin in 2026.” The province gave the Enoch Nation $35-million for the facility’s capital costs.
Read More: What’s Wrong with Rehab?
September 19: Finance minister Nate Horner’s office confirms that bargaining between the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the province has resumed ahead of an October 6 strike deadline.
Read More: Smith Vs. Smith
The Week in Alberta is updated weekdays by 4:30pm MT.
