Alberta schools will stay open for now: Watch COVID-19 Update

Update on COVID-19 in Alberta from The Province of Alberta

The Emergency Management Cabinet Committee is recommending schools remain open with mitigations in place to protect the health of Alberta teachers and students.

All publicly funded schools will remain open at this time, provided steps are taken to eliminate large congregations of students. No more than 250 people should be in the same room at any time. Additionally, it is recommended that sports and other extracurricular activities that involve physical contact be cancelled as an additional precaution.

Post-secondary institutions have not been advised to close at this time.

“I understand and appreciate many Albertans are concerned about their children and the risk of COVID-19. Students should not be worried about attending class at this time. However, I encourage school boards to take these precautions and remind your staff and students about the personal steps they too can take to protect themselves from COVID-19.”

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Chief Medical Officer of Health

For additional advice, a guidance document for schools and child care programs is in development and will be made available online at alberta.ca/COVID19.

Changes to employment rules

Government is acting quickly to improve employment rules to protect Albertans by implementing paid job-protected leave.

Changes to the Employment Standards Code will allow employees who are required to self-isolate or are caring for a loved one with COVID-19 to take 14 days of paid job-protected leave to cover the self-isolation period being recommended by Alberta’s chief medical officer of health.

There will be no requirement to have a medical note for such leave or to have worked for an employer for 90 days to qualify for such leave.

The details of how these changes will be administered will be provided in the coming days. We recognize this could put pressure on employers. As we work through the details, we are keeping this in mind and working toward solutions to address these challenges.

“We are taking COVID-19 extremely seriously and acting quickly to improve employment rules. That is why we are offering paid sick leave to help contain the spread of the virus. No one should have to choose between work and taking care of their health. We are all in this together to ensure workplaces are safe and the spread of COVID-19 is mitigated.”

Jason Kenney, Premier

New cases of COVID-19

Six additional cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 29. All cases are travel-related.

One of the cases involves a man from the Edmonton zone who recently attended a conference in Vancouver and was notified that a positive case had attended the same conference. After returning, the individual visited a number of dental offices. As soon as this case tested positive, health officials took immediate action to protect the health of Albertans. All contacts who may have been at risk of exposure have been contacted for follow-up assessment and testing.

The other cases are in the Calgary zone and include a returning traveller from Florida, and four household contacts of a previously confirmed case.

All new cases are now self-isolated at home and expected to make a full recovery.

“This latest case of an individual who contracted COVID-19 at a conference indicates the risk of large mass gatherings, especially when they might involve international participants. This confirms our recommendation on mass gatherings was the right approach. We will continue to take any steps necessary to protect your health.”

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Chief Medical Officer of Health

Health Link 811 call volume and testing

Health Link continues to experience high call volumes, regularly receiving more than 6,300 calls daily. To help manage wait times, AHS has doubled Health Link staff and tripled call line capacity.

AHS will also be making available shortly a new online assessment tool. This tool will guide Albertans to answer questions about symptoms and take them through steps to help determine whether they need testing.

“I understand and have heard from Albertans who are frustrated about the time it takes to reach a Health Link operator. I urge Albertans to please continue being patient and to stay on the line. We will continue to work to manage Health Link wait times and ensure Albertans can get access to testing promptly.”

Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health

Albertans can help call volumes by:

visiting alberta.ca/COVID19 for information if you don’t have symptoms or need a health assessment.
calling Health Link during non-peak times
not calling Health Link if you are awaiting COVID-19 test results. If you’ve been tested for COVID-19, you will be called directly with your test results

Albertans should only call 911 if it is a life-threatening emergency situation. Do not call 911 if you cannot get through right away to Health Link.

Mass gatherings and recommended travel advice

Effective March 12, health officials called for all large gatherings or international events in the province to be cancelled and advised Albertans against travel outside of the country.

Alberta is asking organizers to cancel any events that have more than 250 attendees. This includes large sporting events.

Any event that has more than 50 attendees and expects to have international participants, or involves critical infrastructure staff, seniors, or other high-risk populations should also be cancelled.

Events that do not meet these criteria can proceed, but risk mitigation must be in place, such as sanitizer stations and distancing between attendees.

Travel outside of the country is not being recommended at this time. Given the rapid global spread of the virus, it is no longer possible to assess health risks for the duration of the trip.

Additionally, public health officials are recommending that any traveller returning from outside of the country should self-isolate for 14 days, even if they are feeling well, and monitor for symptoms.

Any traveller who has returned before March 12 is not advised to self-isolate unless they have returned from Italy, Iran, China’s Hubei province or the Grand Princess cruise ship.

If symptoms do emerge, individuals are asked to call Health Link 811 for follow-up assessment and testing.

Quick facts

The most important measures that Albertans can take to prevent respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, is to practise good hygiene.
- This includes cleaning your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds, avoiding touching your face, coughing or sneezing into your elbow or sleeve, disposing of tissues appropriately, and staying home and away from others if you are sick.
Anyone who has health concerns or is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should contact Health Link 811 to see if follow up testing is required.
For recommendations on protecting yourself and your community, visit alberta.ca/COVID19.

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Low oil prices could have big consequences for Alberta’s finances

Published on April 26, 2025

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill

Amid the tariff war, the price of West Texas Intermediate oil—a common benchmark—recently dropped below US$60 per barrel. Given every $1 drop in oil prices is an estimated $750 million hit to provincial revenues, if oil prices remain low for long, there could be big implications for Alberta’s budget.

The Smith government already projects a $5.2 billion budget deficit in 2025/26 with continued deficits over the following two years. This year’s deficit is based on oil prices averaging US$68.00 per barrel. While the budget does include a $4 billion “contingency” for unforeseen events, given the economic and fiscal impact of Trump’s tariffs, it could quickly be eaten up.

Budget deficits come with costs for Albertans, who will already pay a projected $600 each in provincial government debt interest in 2025/26. That’s money that could have gone towards health care and education, or even tax relief.

Unfortunately, this is all part of the resource revenue rollercoaster that’s are all too familiar to Albertans.

Resource revenue (including oil and gas royalties) is inherently volatile. In the last 10 years alone, it has been as high as $25.2 billion in 2022/23 and as low as $2.8 billion in 2015/16. The provincial government typically enjoys budget surpluses—and increases government spending—when oil prices and resource revenue is relatively high, but is thrown into deficits when resource revenues inevitably fall.

Fortunately, the Smith government can mitigate this volatility.

The key is limiting the level of resource revenue included in the budget to a set stable amount. Any resource revenue above that stable amount is automatically saved in a rainy-day fund to be withdrawn to maintain that stable amount in the budget during years of relatively low resource revenue. The logic is simple: save during the good times so you can weather the storm during bad times.

Indeed, if the Smith government had created a rainy-day account in 2023, for example, it could have already built up a sizeable fund to help stabilize the budget when resource revenue declines. While the Smith government has deposited some money in the Heritage Fund in recent years, it has not created a dedicated rainy-day account or introduced a similar mechanism to help stabilize provincial finances.

Limiting the amount of resource revenue in the budget, particularly during times of relatively high resource revenue, also tempers demand for higher spending, which is only fiscally sustainable with permanently high resource revenues. In other words, if the government creates a rainy-day account, spending would become more closely align with stable ongoing levels of revenue.

And it’s not too late. To end the boom-bust cycle and finally help stabilize provincial finances, the Smith government should create a rainy-day account.

Alberta

Governments in Alberta should spur homebuilding amid population explosion

Published on April 26, 2025

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill and Austin Thompson

In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.

Alberta has long been viewed as an oasis in Canada’s overheated housing market—a refuge for Canadians priced out of high-cost centres such as Vancouver and Toronto. But the oasis is starting to dry up. House prices and rents in the province have spiked by about one-third since the start of the pandemic. According to a recent Maru poll, more than 70 per cent of Calgarians and Edmontonians doubt they will ever be able to afford a home in their city. Which raises the question: how much longer can this go on?

Alberta’s housing affordability problem reflects a simple reality—not enough homes have been built to accommodate the province’s growing population. The result? More Albertans competing for the same homes and rental units, pushing prices higher.

Population growth has always been volatile in Alberta, but the recent surge, fuelled by record levels of immigration, is unprecedented. Alberta has set new population growth records every year since 2022, culminating in the largest-ever increase of 186,704 new residents in 2024—nearly 70 per cent more than the largest pre-pandemic increase in 2013.

Homebuilding has increased, but not enough to keep pace with the rise in population. In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.

Moreover, from 1972 to 2019, Alberta added 2.1 new residents (on average) for every housing unit started compared to 3.9 new residents for every housing unit started in 2024. Put differently, today nearly twice as many new residents are potentially competing for each new home compared to historical norms.

While Alberta attracts more Canadians from other provinces than any other province, federal immigration and residency policies drive Alberta’s population growth. So while the provincial government has little control over its population growth, provincial and municipal governments can affect the pace of homebuilding.

For example, recent provincial amendments to the city charters in Calgary and Edmonton have helped standardize building codes, which should minimize cost and complexity for builders who operate across different jurisdictions. Municipal zoning reforms in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer have made it easier to build higher-density housing, and Lethbridge and Medicine Hat may soon follow suit. These changes should make it easier and faster to build homes, helping Alberta maintain some of the least restrictive building rules and quickest approval timelines in Canada.

There is, however, room for improvement. Policymakers at both the provincial and municipal level should streamline rules for building, reduce regulatory uncertainty and development costs, and shorten timelines for permit approvals. Calgary, for instance, imposes fees on developers to fund a wide array of public infrastructure—including roads, sewers, libraries, even buses—while Edmonton currently only imposes fees to fund the construction of new firehalls.

It’s difficult to say how long Alberta’s housing affordability woes will endure, but the situation is unlikely to improve unless homebuilding increases, spurred by government policies that facilitate more development.