Alberta
Province adding 22 ambulance crews including 1 in Red Deer
Adding new EMS supports to improve response times
Record investments will build a stronger, more flexible and innovative system for emergency medical services (EMS) with better access to care and shorter wait times.
Alberta’s government promised that help is on the way for Albertans and the province’s health system. By hiring more staff, putting more ambulances on the road and strengthening mental health supports for front-line workers, Alberta’s government is delivering on that promise.
“We are adding new ambulances and front-line staff and investing in solutions now and into the future to make sure ambulances arrive as fast as possible when Albertans call 911 for a medical emergency.”
The funding boost also supports implementing Health Care Action Plan priorities and recommendations made by the Alberta EMS Provincial Advisory Committee to improve EMS response and the work culture for EMS staff.
Alberta has the best front-line health care workers in the world, and Budget 2023 will put the right supports in place to ensure Albertans get the care they need, when and where they need it.
“Budget 2023 delivers the needed support to the front line and adds more resources to implement the Alberta EMS Provincial Advisory Committee recommendations. The additional funding will help ease worker fatigue and provide more mental health supports to improve the work environment for all EMS staff.”
Adding EMS staff and more ambulances
To improve EMS response time, Budget 2023 invests in adding staff and boosting the number of ambulances on the road. The funding increase will add EMS crews to staff 10 more ambulances in Edmonton, 10 in Calgary, one in Lethbridge and one in Red Deer during peak hours this year.
As part of the ongoing work to improve the central dispatch system and implement the EMS advisory committee’s recommendations, Alberta’s government will provide more than $1.5 million to hire and train additional staff and conduct a review of EMS available resources and how they are used in communities.
Supporting EMS workforce
Front-line staff and community partners asked for more supports to create better work environments, as reflected in the provincial advisory committee’s recommendations. Budget 2023 delivers funding to improve scheduling practices to allow for more breaks, more flexibility in the length of shifts and opportunities to take time off, in addition to providing for more training and development opportunities.
Nearly $1 million will go towards boosting mental health supports for EMS staff across the province. A $3-million investment will address paramedic fatigue in rural communities by adjusting work hours and shift schedules as part of the AHS EMS hours of work initiative.
“This funding increase enables aggressive action on our priority of improving emergency response times. We will hire more staff, increase hours of ambulance capacity, expand partnerships with other community supports and deliver innovative projects. This is about getting Albertans the care they need, where and when they need it.”
EMS-811 shared response, inter-facility transfers and treat and refer
Alberta’s Health Care Action Plan is helping to speed up EMS response times and free up highly trained paramedics from non-emergency calls and transfers. Additional funding will go towards the EMS-811 Shared Response program that transfers calls from Albertans with non-urgent conditions to registered nurses with Health Link.
All these actions will reduce EMS response time by empowering paramedics to focus efforts on urgent calls and diverting them away from situations when their level of care is not medically required.
Medical first response supports in rural communities
Medical first responders provide life-saving care in rural and remote communities until an ambulance arrives. Budget 2023 invests in supporting medical first response and implementing the EMS provincial advisory committee’s recommendations to add capacity and provide additional training and equipment.
Budget 2023 secures Alberta’s future by transforming the health care system to meet people’s needs, supporting Albertans with the high cost of living, keeping our communities safe and driving the economy with more jobs, quality education and continued diversification.
Quick facts
In 2023-24, Alberta’s government is providing $723 million in operating funds for EMS, an increase of $138 million to support EMS priority actions, including:
- $47 million for additional EMS capacity to put more ambulances on the road, hire additional paramedics and emergency communications officers, and create dedicated inter-facility transfer capacity in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer.
- $24 million for recruitment and workforce initiatives and supports, including training programs and mental health supports for front-line staff.
- $24 million to continue initiatives that were implemented last year such as the 19 additional ambulances in Calgary and Edmonton, and enhanced scheduling changes made in high-priority stations around the province to reduce paramedic fatigue.
- $21 million for ground ambulance contract changes, increased mileage and fuel, including for air ambulance/air ambulance supports and other operational pressures from the increase in the number of events.
- $7 million to support strategies to enhance the EMS system, such as enhancements to the medical first response program, public education and response, and a review of the ground ambulance resource allocation policies and capacity.
- Almost $7 million to support other initiatives such as clinical improvement initiatives like expanding the vital health response program to the south zone, which will make it possible for paramedics to provide life-saving heart medication in the event of a heart attack, and expanding the mobile integrated heart program to support community paramedics across the province.
- $3 million for the EMS-811 Shared Response program.
- $3 million for other initiatives related to implementing recommendations.
- $2 million for a project related to air ambulances.
- Budget 2023 provides $196 million in new EMS funding over three years to hire more staff, put more ambulances on the road and implement recommendations made by the EMS advisory committee and the EMS Dispatch Review Report.
- In addition, $15 million over three years will fund a new capital program to purchase more ambulances and related equipment.
“If Ottawa had it’s way Albertans would be left to freeze in the dark”
The ineffective federal net-zero electricity regulations will not reduce emissions or benefit Albertans but will increase costs and lead to supply shortages.
The risk of power outages during a hot summer or the depths of harsh winter cold snaps, are not unrealistic outcomes if these regulations are implemented. According to the Alberta Electric System Operator’s analysis, the regulations in question would make Alberta’s electricity system more than 100 times less reliable than the province’s supply adequacy standard. Albertans expect their electricity to remain affordable and reliable, but implementation of these regulations could increase costs by a staggering 35 per cent.
Canada’s constitution is clear. Provinces have exclusive jurisdiction over the development, conservation and management of sites and facilities in the province for the generation and production of electrical energy. That is why Alberta’s government is referring the constitutionality of the federal government’s recent net-zero electricity regulations to the Court of Appeal of Alberta.
“The federal government refused to work collaboratively or listen to Canadians while developing these regulations. The results are ineffective, unachievable and irresponsible, and place Albertans’ livelihoods – and more importantly, lives – at significant risk. Our government will not accept unconstitutional net-zero regulations that leave Albertans vulnerable to blackouts in the middle of summer and winter when they need electricity the most.”
“The introduction of the Clean Electricity Regulations in Alberta by the federal government is another example of dangerous federal overreach. These regulations will create unpredictable power outages in the months when Albertans need reliable energy the most. They will also cause power prices to soar in Alberta, which will hit our vulnerable the hardest.”
Finalized in December 2024, the federal electricity regulations impose strict carbon limits on fossil fuel power, in an attempt to force a net-zero grid, an unachievable target given current technology and infrastructure. The reliance on unproven technologies makes it almost impossible to operate natural gas plants without costly upgrades, threatening investment, grid reliability, and Alberta’s energy security.
“Ottawa’s electricity regulations will leave Albertans in the dark. They aren’t about reducing emissions – they are unconstitutional, ideological activist policies based on standards that can’t be met and technology that doesn’t exist. It will drive away investment and punish businesses, provinces and families for using natural gas for reliable, dispatchable power. We will not put families at risk from safety and affordability impacts – rationing power during the coldest days of the year – and we will continue to stand up for Albertans.”
“Albertans depend on electricity to provide for their families, power their businesses and pursue their dreams. The federal government’s Clean Electricity Regulations threaten both the affordability and reliability of our power grid, and we will not stand by as these regulations put the well-being of Albertans at risk.”
Related information
- Conference Board of Canada socio-economic Impacts of Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan – (April 2025)
- Alberta Electric System Operator’s position on Canadian Energy Regulations
Oh, Canada
We find it endlessly fascinating that most Canadians believe they live in a representative democracy, where aspiring candidates engage in authentic politicking to earn their place in office. So accustomed are Canada’s power brokers to getting their way, they rarely bother to cover their tracks. A careful reading of the notoriously pliant Canadian press makes anticipating future events in the country surprisingly straightforward.
Back in December, when Pierre Poilievre was given better than 90% odds of replacing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—and Mark Carney was still just an uncharismatic banker few had heard of—we engaged in some not-so-speculative dot-connecting and correctly predicted Carney’s rise to the top spot. Our interest was driven by the notoriously rocky relationship between Ottawa and the Province of Alberta, home to one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon reserves, and how Carney’s rise might be a catalyst for resetting Canada’s energy trajectory. In a follow-up article titled “The Fix Is In,” we laid out a few more predictions:
“Here’s how the play is likely to unfold in the weeks and months ahead: Carney will be elected Prime Minister on April 28 by a comfortable margin; [Alberta Premier Danielle] Smith will trigger a constitutional crisis, providing cover for Carney to strike a grand bargain that finally resolves longstanding tensions between the provinces and Ottawa; and large infrastructure permitting reform will fall into place. Protests against these developments will be surprisingly muted, and those who do take to the streets will be largely ignored by the media. The entire effort will be wrapped in a thicket of patriotism, with Trump portrayed as a threat even greater than climate change itself. References to carbon emissions will slowly fade…
In parallel, we expect Trump and Carney to swiftly strike a favorable deal on tariffs, padding the latter’s bona fides just as his political capital will be most needed.”
The votes have barely been counted, yet the next moves are already unfolding…
“Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’ll make it easier for citizens to initiate a referendum on the province’s future in Canada, after warning that a Liberal win in Monday’s election could spur a groundswell of support for Alberta separatism. Smith said on Tuesday that a newly tabled elections bill will give everyday Albertans a bigger say in the province’s affairs.
‘(We’re giving) Albertans more ways to be directly involved in democracy, and to have their say on issues that matter to them,’ Smith told reporters in Edmonton.
If passed, the new law would dramatically lower the number of signatures needed to put a citizen-proposed constitutional referendum question on the ballot, setting a new threshold of 10 per cent of general election turnout — or just over 175,000, based on Alberta’s last provincial election in 2023.”
“US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is looking to make a trade deal and will visit the White House within the next week. Trump said he congratulated Carney on his election victory when the Canadian leader called on Tuesday.
‘He called me up yesterday – he said let’s make a deal,’ Trump told reporters at the White House after a televised Cabinet meeting.”
Remember where you read it first.
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