Alberta’s political parties are in full-on campaign mode as Election Day approaches on April 16th. Each day the parties release information about their policies and platforms, candidate information and reactions to the day’s news. It can be difficult to try and keep up with it all, so from now until the election we’ll compile the news and information released from the parties each day.
“Alberta has the beauty and talent to be the preferred location for film and television production in Canada, but the NDP has completely ignored this opportunity. The Alberta Party will put incentives in place to massively expand our screen industries, which will generate spin-off benefits for every city, town and village across our province.”
Stephen Mandel – Leader of the Alberta Party
FILM IN ALBERTA PROGRAM
The Film in Alberta Program will be the most attractive program of its kind in Canada. Corporations will receive a tax credit of up to 65% of eligible salaries or a tax credit of 35% on all eligible expenditures within Alberta.
The corporation must have a permanent establishment in Alberta.
Some genres will be excluded from the credit including, but not limited to, pornography, talk shows, live sports events, game shows, reality television, and advertising.
There will be no limit on production or video length. This will make Alberta the first jurisdiction in Canada to encourage YouTube and online creators to produce content here in Alberta. It will also attract e-sports broadcasting to Alberta.
Reduce red tape to film in locations under provincial jurisdiction.
The program is based on Manitoba’s model, which includes incentives for rural productions to achieve the full credit.
Hollywood has been coming to Alberta to make films since 1917. Productions made in Alberta have won more Emmys, Golden Globes and Oscars than any other region in the country. Alberta has an incredibly rich and diverse setting for film and television production — including mountains, foothills, plains, farmland, boreal forest, and urban locations. This competitive advantage can’t be offshored.
In 2017, the total volume of film and television production in Alberta was $308 million, while British Columbia and Ontario were close to $3 billion each. This program is expected to increase the economic impact of screen industries in Alberta to approximately $1.5 billion with benefits seen within the first few years. Spin-off economic activity across the province will boost hotels, the food industry and other support services.
The industry employs a variety of highly skilled workers such as programmers, electricians, and carpenters. Stimulating a huge expansion in this industry will create thousands of high-skilled, well-paying jobs and retain post-secondary graduates in Alberta.
“Finding safe, quality, affordable child care shouldn’t be a lottery,” said Notley. “It should be something families in Alberta can depend on.”
Rachel Notley – Leader of the New Democratic Party of Alberta
To help more parents join or stay in the workforce, Rachel Notley is committing to expand $25-a-day child care across Alberta.
Affordable child care allows parents to join the workforce or stay in a career at a crucial times. Families with affordable child care earn more and are better able to make choices for their families.
While announcing her plan Monday, Notley called child care the “Medicare of the 21st Century.”
The announcement builds on a successful Alberta’s affordable child care pilot project brought in by Notley two years ago. It also addresses one of the biggest gaps in Alberta’s economy.
Alberta has the largest gender gap in Canada when it comes to workforce participation, a key measure of economic growth. Other Canadian jurisdictions that have invested in affordable child care have seen increases to employment and productivity.
Estimates show that $25-a-day child care would increase employment by 43,000 people and add nearly $6 billion a year to our GDP. The Conference Board of Canada has said that every dollar invested in child care gets a $2 return.
Notley’s plan will stagger a $1.5 billion investment over the next five years to ensure families across Alberta pay $25 per day. The plan would also address wait times by adding 13,000 new spaces to the existing 62,000 spaces in the province.
“Child care is a key to unlocking Alberta’s economic potential,” said Notley. “In a changing global economy, Albertans need to be able to make the best choices for their families.”
“As math scores plunge and report cards become increasingly difficult to understand, a United Conservative government will reset the curriculum rewrite, restore fundamentals to math and affirm the primary role of parents in choosing how their children are taught. It’s time to bring common sense to education.”
The United Conservative plan laid out by Kenney will:
Maintain or increase education funding while seeking greater efficiency by reducing administrative overhead and pushing resources to front line teachers.
Continue to build new schools. This will include ordering an immediate audit of class sizes to determine what happened to previous funding dedicated to class size reduction, and prioritizing public infrastructure funds for schools and health care infrastructure.
End the focus on so-called “discovery” or “inquiry” learning, also known as constructivism, by repealing Minister Order #001/2013. A UCP government will develop a new Ministerial Order which focusses on teaching essential knowledge to help students develop foundational competencies.
Pause the NDP’s curriculum review, and broaden consultations to be open and transparent, including a wider range of perspectives from parents, teachers, and subject matter experts.
Reform student assessment so that students, parents and teachers can clearly identify areas of strength and weakness. This will include bringing back the Grade 3 Provincial Achievement Test, returning to a 50/50 split between Diploma and school grades for Grade 12, and implementing language and math assessments for students in grades 1, 2, and 3 to help both parents and teachers understand and assess progress in the critical early years, and remedy where necessary.
Require clear, understandable report cards.
Focus on excellence in outcomes, including benchmarking the Alberta education system against leading global jurisdictions; ensuring teachers have expertise in subject areas by introducing teacher testing; expand options for schools to facilitate expertise; requiring that the education faculties in Alberta’s universities themselves require that teachers take courses in the subjects they will one day teach in schools.
Support safe schools that protect students against discrimination and bullying; and reinforce the need for open, critical debate and thinking as key to lifelong learning.
Proclaim the Education Act (2014), taking effect on September 1, 2019. A UCP government will trust the hard work done by those who created the 2014 Education Act, and proclaim that legislation, already passed by the Legislature. Unlike the NDP’s curriculum review, conducted largely in secret, the 2014 Education Act resulted from years of widespread public consultation.
Affirm parental choice through a Choice in Education Act. Alberta has a strong legacy of diversity in education. A UCP government will uphold the established right of parents to choose the education setting best suited for their children including: public, separate, charter, independent, alternative and home education programs.
Reduce paperwork burdens on teachers, principals and other school staff, and reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens throughout the system.
Review and implement selected recommendations from the Task Force for Teaching Excellence. A UCP government will work with parents, teachers and principals to once again make Alberta’s schools the choice-based, excellent classrooms that all Albertans desire and deserve. A UCP government will defer to parents as the natural guardians of a child’s best interests and will trust teachers as professionals.
Review the current funding formula to ensure that rural schools have adequate resources to deliver programs in an equitable way.
Alberta’s government is engaging with Albertans on increasing speed limits on rural highways.
Starting Nov. 7, Albertans can share their views on modernizing speed limits on divided highways through an online survey running until Dec. 12. The survey will ask how Albertans view raising the speed limit by 10 km/h on various highways from 110 km/h to 120 km/h.
“Alberta’s government is investigating how to safely increase speed limits on divided highways, and if Albertans support increasing speed limits. We are investing more than $1.5 billion this year alone to improve highway safety and upgrade infrastructure across the province. We want Albertans to be able to drive the speed limit that the highways are designed for. Modern vehicles combined with public awareness mean we can explore higher speed limits.”
The survey will provide Albertans with the opportunity to provide input on which highways they would prioritize having a speed limit increase, their views on restricting commercial trucks from using the far-left lane on highways with three or more lanes and any other feedback that would improve driving experiences on provincial highways.
Following a review of the survey results, Alberta’s government plans to conduct a mini-trial of a 120 km/h speed limit to assess the impacts of higher speed limits on divided highways. The trial will include strong monitoring to assess driving behaviour.
Alberta’s government reminds motorists to slow down and drive to the conditions. Speed limits are set for ideal conditions. When roads are wet, icy or when there is reduced visibility, motorists should slow down.
Quick facts
Alberta’s provincial highway network includes more than 64,000 lane kilometres of highways, about 11,700 lane kilometres of which are divided.
The posted speed limits of Alberta’s divided highways range from 100 to 110 km/h, although the posted speed limits on segments passing through cities, towns and First Nation lands can be as low as 50 km/h due to factors such as signalized intersections, pedestrians and local access.
A new Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee has been struck to address classroom challenges.
Taking action on class size and complexity
Classrooms in Alberta continue to grow and are becoming increasingly complex, and immediate action is needed to address these issues in the public education system. To meet these issues head on, the Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee has been created. The cabinet committee will help guide government policy and deploy resources to deal with class sizes and classroom complexity.
“We are committed to providing world-class education, and we’re building schools and funding education at a rate unprecedented in this province. This committee will help us address the concerns of teachers, parents and students around class sizes and complexity.”
Throughout November, Alberta’s government will continue work with school boards to collect data on class sizes and classroom composition. The cabinet committee will use this data to direct resources to the classrooms that need it the most. Starting in January, this data will be made available and released annually.
The Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee will be co-chaired by the Premier of Alberta and the Minister of Education and Childcare. It will also include non-voting members representing school boards, administrators and a teacher representative of the ATA. The committee will also hear from school boards, academic experts, teachers, educational assistants, complex needs specialists and parents to inform its decisions and guide this vital work.
“We heard teacher concerns, and we are providing solutions. The Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee will help us take immediate action and ensure teachers and students are given the support they need to succeed.”
In June 2025, Alberta’s government established the Aggression and Complexity in Schools Action Team to provide advice on addressing classroom complexity. The report has been received and will be released soon. Over the coming months, the cabinet committee will start rolling out solutions informed by the action team’s recommendations. In addition, the committee will guide the creation of a new inclusive education policy framework.
“The work of this committee will support teachers in responding to the growing complexity in our classrooms. We will ensure that the voices of the contributors to the initial work guide solutions that truly improve the educational experience for students and the educators who serve them.”
“I appreciate the government’s recognition of the impact of classroom complexity and their commitment to working collaboratively for improvement. Supporting teachers ultimately improves classroom conditions and student outcomes.”
Using data collected, this cabinet committee will also guide Alberta’s government in executing its commitment to hire 3,000 new teachers and 1,500 new educational assistants over the next three years. They will also assist in identifying and prioritizing where new schools and modulars should be built, advancing the government’s commitment to invest $8.6 billion to build 130 new schools, and provide 109 modular classrooms in the growing communities that need them urgently.
Quick facts
Members of the Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee include:
Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta
Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education and Childcare
Jason Nixon, Minister of Assisted Living and Social Services
Rick Wilson, Minister of Mental Health and Addiction
Searle Turton, Minister of Child and Family Services
