Finding Alberta Legislation

This guide will help you research and locate information and resources for Alberta legislation.

Bills

Bills come into force on:

• the day they receive Royal Assent if the act doesn’t state otherwise
• a specific date
• proclamation
• a combination of the above

The Bills and Amendments page provides online access to the text of bills and status reports for individual bills from Legislature 1, 1906 to present. It also lists session bill activity by date. From this page you can directly search the Hansard for discussion of a specific bill.

Legislative Summary – Summarizes the latest session including bills

Print copies of Alberta Bills may be available from the Legislature Library (780-427-2473) library.request@assembly.ab.ca, Legislature Information line (780-427-2826) or Legislative Counsel (780-427-2217) or laocommunications@assembly.ab.ca, bills@assembly.ab.ca. There may be a charge for a copy from Legislative Counsel.

Alberta Hansard – The Bill Status Report located at the end of the last Hansard issue of each session provides a report on the status of all bills introduced in that session. The Thursday Hansard issues give a summary to date. As of January 1, 2016 the Alberta Hansard is only published digitally. Older print copies are available in the library. Electronic versions of the Hansard are also available through: Legislative Assembly of Alberta – Transcripts – Hansard from 1972 – current are available and searchable.

Hansard Debates, Journals, & Royal Commissions

Alberta Hansard

The introduction and discussion of a statute in the Legislative Assembly is found in the Hansard since 1972. The hard copy index has two parts the “Subject Index” and the “Speaker Index”.

As of January 1, 2016 the Alberta Hansard is only published digitally. Older print copies are available in the library. Electronic versions of the Hansard are also available through:

• Legislative Assembly of Alberta – Transcripts Includes searchable Hansards from the Fourth Session of the 24th Legislature (2000-2001) – current. Also available are House Records, Journals and transcripts for Committees and Reference documents.
• Alberta Law Digital – University of Calgary – includes Hansards from 1972-1993
• Scrapbook Hansard is an historical collection of newspaper clippings and a few speech transcripts covering Alberta’s legislative debates from 1906 to 1971 prior to the Alberta Hansard publication.

Journals

• Legislative Assembly of Alberta – Journals – 1980 – Current
• Alberta Law Digital – University of Calgary – includes Journals from – 1906-1975

Royal Commissions

Orders in Council & Ministerial Orders

Orders in Council

• Alberta King’s Printer – June 1998 – current. Searches can be done by year, ministry, description, legislative authority or Order in Council number.
• KP Source Professional – 1967 to current
• Alberta Gazette Pt. I
• Provincial Archives – older than 10 years
• Legislature Library – 780-427-2273

Ministerial orders

• Alberta King’s Printer 2015 – current. Searches can be done by year, ministry, ministerial order number, or authorizing act or regulation.
• are not automatically made public in Alberta.
• have the force of law
• are used to make important political and policy decisions

If you know the minister who made the order you can try to locate a copy by:

• contacting the appropriate Alberta Ministry
• looking in the Alberta Gazette Part I (sometimes ministerial orders are published). Historical copies of the Alberta Gazette Part I can be found in the Alberta Law Digital – Gazette
• checking Open Government Alberta
• searching specific departments, as some post their ministerial orders online

For Ministerial Orders made by the Ministry of Justice email official.documents@gov.ab.ca

Statutes

To become a Provincial law, a bill goes through three readings in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and then receives Royal Assent. A bill becomes law when it receives Royal Assent. Alberta provincial laws are binding only in the province of Alberta. Even though a bill became a law the statute still might not be in force.

Public & Private Statutes

Public Acts are found in the:

• annual volumes – they include both numeric and alphanumeric chapter numbers in the same volume
• Revised Statutes of Alberta (R.S.A.) (bound volumes) the latest being RSA 2000 which were proclaimed in force Jan. 1, 2002.
• Revised Statutes of Alberta (R.S.A.) (looseleaf volumes) – (provides a convenient consolidation and is updated twice a year, but it is not considered an “official” version for citation to the Courts.)
• in pamphlet form (printed by King’s Printer after Royal Assent and before the annual volume is published)
• online:
  • Alberta King’s Printer includes bound volumes from 2001 to present
  • KP Source Professional a fully searchable database including the current text of Alberta’s statutes, regulations and Rules of Court. It also includes Alberta Gazette (1986 to present) and Orders-in-Council (1967 to present), Tables of Public and Private Statutes, the Index of Regulations, and point-in-time statutes (2002 to present), As well as historical annual Alberta statutes (1906 to present) and Revised statutes (RSA 1922-1980)
  • Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) includes the bound annual statutes from 1906 onwards, including revised statutes from 1924 onwards and the 2004 regulations.

  Private Acts

  • Are only published in the annual volumes of the statutes. They are not on CanLII or KP Source Professional.
  • The “Table of Private Statutes of the Province of Alberta”, found in the last volume of the Revised Statutes of Alberta (R.S.A. 2000 Looseleaf ed.) and in each of the annual bound Statutes of Alberta volumes (blue pages), lists alphabetically all private statutes and any amendments to them. It is also available on KP Source Professional.
  • Legislation enacted as a private statute is limited and is restricted to private companies, organisations or individuals.

  Find

  Print

  • Statutes of the Province of Alberta
  • Revised Statutes of Alberta– the last Revised Statutes of Alberta is RSA 2000. The looseleaf binders are updated a few times a year so the online version is always the most current.
  • Table of Public Statutes – This is an alphabetical table of statutes including all amendments up to the date specified on the table. It is frequently referred to as the “pink pages”. Found in the last volume of the Revised Statutes of Alberta (R.S.A. 2000 Looseleaf ed.) and in each of the annual bound Statutes of Alberta volumes.
  • Annotated Alberta statutes, you can find texts on specific statutes by searching the ALL Catalogue
  • For older statutes:
    • Index to the Statutes of Alberta: RSA 1980 to SA 1985 inclusive, 2nd ed. by Canadian Law Information Council. – This print index provides subject access to earlier versions of the statutes.

    E-resources

    The following e-resources include updated, searchable consolidated Alberta statutes in their collections. Some of the resources also include access to the annual historical volumes. Check the currency information in each source for the date of their last update.

    • Alberta King’s Printer – You can display the statutes by responsible ministry. Once you locate an act you can download a copy or request a print copy (for a fee) to be mailed out.
    • KP Source Professional
    • Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) – Check the statutes and regulations of Alberta page for the latest update to the content. Includes the annual volumes from 1906 onwards
    • Lexis Advance® Quicklaw®
      • Halsbury’s laws of Canada– This multi-volume set (print & electronic) includes coverage of Federal, Provincial & Territorial legislation.

      Coming in Force

      New statues and amendments to existing statutes are introduced as bills in the Legislative Assembly and will come into force in one of three ways:

      • upon receiving Royal Assent.
      • by a “coming into force” provision at the end of the statute which specifies a date
      • on proclamation given by the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.

      Once in force, existing statutes may be repealed by the Legislative Assembly. For further information on coming in force provisions consult the Interpretation Act, RSA 2000, c I-8.

      To determine if a Statute is in force consult the following sources:

      The following two tables are located in the annual bound volumes and the last volume of the Revised Statutes of Alberta (R.S.A. 2000 Looseleaf ed.) :

      1. Table of Public Statutes (pink pages) – includes all of the Acts and amendments back to the last R.S.A. by statute and section. ‘Proc.’ indicates that the statute or amendments are not yet proclaimed, and so not in force, as of the date of the Table. Currency information for the table is clearly given at the beginning of the pink pages.
      2. Enactments brought into force or repealed by proclamation or on a named date – contains the status of proclaimed and unproclaimed statutes including the Gazette reference information. Found just before the pink pages.
      • Alberta Gazette Part I & II(print)– find the official text of proclamations using the annual index which includes a listing of proclamations.
      • Alberta King’s Printer – Alberta Gazette, Parts 1 & 2 – 1995 to present
      • Alberta King’s Printer – Recent proclamations.
      • Alberta King’s Printer – Laws online – lists all proclaimed acts alphabetically.
      • KP Source Professional – Under the “What’s new section – Statutes” you can find recent proclamations.
      • The Legislative Counsel Office is responsible for drafting government bills, regulations and Orders in Council. The office also works with the Alberta King’s Printer to make the laws of Alberta available to the public. The most current information is available from their office. Call: 780-427-2417

      Historical

      You can trace the legislative history of a statute in paper using the history notes found at the end of each section of the revised or consolidated statutes. The history notes indicate previous sources for the current legislation and help you determine when a section was added to an act. The Table of Concordance Schedule D, in the last volume of the Revised Statutes of Alberta (RSA 2000 Looseleaf ed.), is a chart that shows where previous legislation may be found in the new revision.

      • Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) – Includes older versions of the Statutes of Alberta 1906-current.
      • HeinOnline – Includes PDF versions of all the Statutes of Alberta from 1906 – current
      • Lexis Advance® Quicklaw® contains Alberta Repealed Statutes from 2000 and Alberta Annual Statutes from 2001-current.
      • Alberta King’s Printer contains Alberta Statutes from RSA 2000 – current.

      Comparing versions

      To compare a statute’s amended wording with its former wording go to CanLII:

      • Search for the legislation you are interested in
      • click on the box beside the dates of two versions you are interested in
      • click on COMPARE in the blue box

      The result is a side by side view of the two versions:

      • On the left is the older version (changes highlighted in red)
      • On the right is the newer version (changes highlighted in green)

      Background & Legislative Intent

      The following sources can provide background on the legislative intent behind the passing of legislation:

      • Alberta Hansard
      • Alberta Law Reform Institute Their publications provide a historical overview of the law, explanation of the current law and discuss possible legislative changes. As of Jan. 1, 2015, these documents are only published electronically. Older copies are available in the library.
      • Index to Canadian legal literature (ICLL) The “Table of Statutes” section indexes articles under specific statutes, case comments, and annotations. No longer updated in print. Also available electronically through Westlaw (Canada)

      English Statutes in Force in Alberta

      • The Introduction of English Law into Alberta by J. E. Coté (1964) – Alberta Law Review, vol. 3 no 2
      • The Reception of English Law by J.E. Coté (1977) – Alberta Law Review, vol. 15 no. 1
      • For modern language versions of selected English Statutes in force in Alberta see The Alberta Legal Desk Book

      Regulations

      Regulations are rules pursuant to an enabling statute. They provide information on how the provisions of a statute are to be implemented. Beginning in 1905, some regulations were published in the Alberta gazette, but it was not until 1957 (Regulations Act) that all law making regulations were required to be published in the Gazette within one month of registration. The Registrar assigns a number prefixed by Alberta Reg. and followed by the year.

      Find

      To find a regulation manually you must know the enabling statute. Consult the :

      • Alberta Gazette, Part II – Index to regulations: Each annual volume of the Alberta gazette, part II includes an index with all the regulations in force as of December 31st of the given year. They are organized under the title of the governing statute, including all the amendments made to the regulation. A cumulative index of regulations for the current year is included at the back of each print issue.
      • Alberta King’s Printer – Consolidated versions of the regulations can be displayed alphabetically by title or numerically by regulation number, searched by keyword(s) in the title, or displayed by responsible ministry.
      • Alberta Law Collection – Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections at the U of C.
      • Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) – You can search regulations by keyword(s) or retrieve them from an alphabetical list. This page indicates the last update to the content which may not be as current as other sources.

      A few regulations are exempt from publication. For example:

      • Power purchase arrangements determinations regulation, Alta Reg 175/2000
      • Governing act: Electric Utilities Act This regulation is so large it is not available online.
      • Regulations under the Public Service Act, RSA 2000, c P-42. – Some of these regulations can be found on Alberta Public Service Commission

      Regulations exempt from publication are listed in the regulations under the Regulations Act.

      Consolidated Regulations There is no print consolidation for the regulations in Alberta. Check the following e-resources for updated and searchable consolidated Alberta regulations in their collections. Take note of the currency of each resource when using them.

      • KP Source Professional
      • Lexis Advance® Quicklaw®
      • Westlaw Canada

      Coming into Force

      Regulations are in force on the date they are filed with the Registrar of Regulations, unless another date is specified in the regulation or the act from which they depend on is not in force (in which case they come into force when the issuing act comes into force). Such dates are usually located at the end of the regulation.

      The filing date appears under the title.

      Historical

      Use the history note at the end of a section of any consolidated electronic version of a regulation to trace the history of that section.

      • The Alberta Gazette Part I & II – Part II: The Index of regulations gives the citation for the original regulation and lists any amendments to that regulation. Information on regulations repealed during that year are included. All regulations in force as of 31 December are included in the annual index for that year. Current year amendments are included in the cumulative index found at the back of each issue.
      • Canadian Current Law: Legislation – This component of the Canadian Abridgment summarizes changes (new, amended, repealed) to regulations. Changes for the year are covered in the annual volumes.
      • Lexis Advance® Quicklaw® – Alberta Repealed Regulations contains repealed and expired regulations from January 1, 2000, which you can browse or search.
      • The Legislative Counsel Office is responsible for drafting government bills, regulations and Orders in Council. The office also works with the Alberta King’s Printer to make the laws of Alberta available to the public. The most current information is available from their office. Call: 780-427-2417

      Background & Legislative Intent

      • Regulations Act, RSA 2000, c R-14
      • Regulations Act Regulation, AR 288/1999

      Judgment Interest Rates

      Pursuant to the Judgment Interest Act, RSA 2000, c J-1 (previously Judgment Interest Act, RSA 1984, c J-0.5) the judgment interest rate is set by regulation. A current consolidation of the Judgment Interest Regulation, Alta Reg 215/2011 is available on the Alberta King’s Printer website. The Judgment Interest Regulation, Alta Reg 364/84 has been repealed by section 2 of the current regulation.

      See Section 1 – Calculation of Interest of the Judgment Interest Regulation, Alta Reg 215/2011 for interest rates from 1993 to current.

      • Judgment Interest Act, RSA 2000, c. J-1
      • Judgment Interest Regulation, Alta Reg 215/2011
      • Alberta King’s Printer

      See also: Limitations Act, RSA 2000, c L-12, s 11 “Judgment for payment of money”.

      Citing

      The citation information on this page is following the most recent McGill Guide as adopted by the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. Statutes are cited by the short title, in italics, followed by a non-italized comma. Followed by RSA (Revised Statutes of Alberta) or SA (Statutes of Alberta), and the year followed by a comma and then abbreviate chapter to c and follow it by the numeric or alphanumeric chapter designation as seen in the statute volume.

      • Limitations Act, RSA 2000, c L-12

      Revised statutes and all new statutes are cited by an alpha-numeric chapter number

      • Local Authorities Election Act, RSA 2000, c L-21
      • Access to the Future Act, SA 2005, c A-1.5

      Amending statutes are cited by a numerical chapter number

      • Traffic Safety Amendment Act, SA 2005, c 34

      For pinpoint references (reference to a specific section) use s for section and ss for reference to multiple sections.

      Note: If the year is part of the title of statute ensure you include this in the title portion of your citation. Citing Regulations Alberta regulations are cited as “Alta” (Alberta abbreviated) “Reg” (Regulation abbreviated) and a sequential number plus year:

      • Alta Reg 339/91
        • It is the 339th regulation in 1991 and is found in the 1991 annual volume

        Since 2000, the year is given in full:

        • Alta Reg 222/2003

        For more information on citing statutes or regulations see:

        • Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 9th ed.
          Also referred to as the McGill Guide
        • Citation Guidelines

        Last revised Dec. 22, 2022

        Judicial Consideration

        Judicial consideration, or noting up, of a statute or regulation involves searching for case law that interprets or applies the statute or regulation or a section thereof. The judicial decisions retrieved reveal how courts have interpreted and analyzed the legislation. Since statutes and section numbers can change over time, it is important to consider repealed or superseded legislation, with particular attention to changes to the section numbers.

        Noting up is easiest done online and is often more current. It is always best to check more than one source when noting up.

        E-Resources

        • Find the statute and then select the Noteup tab at the top of the screen.
        • Select either to retrieve citations to the whole statute or to a specific section or subsection.
        • To retrieve citations to a specific section or subsection, enter the section number in the box provided. You will retrieve a hyperlinked list of decisions citing the statute or section/subsection of the statute.
        • There is no editorial input into this list.
        • In the top search box enter cit: followed by the legislation you wish to noteup.
        • If you already have the legislation on the screen select citing cases on the right of the screen.

        Westlaw Canada This services contains federal and provincial legislation, including rules of practice for every court in Canada except Quebec. It also contains repealed statutes.

        • Under the Find and KeyCite by Name tab > Find and KeyCite a Statute or Regulation by Name
          • ​Enter the title, section (if applicable) and jurisdiction of the legislation you wish to note up
          • Open the legislation
          • Select the Citing References tab
          • Under All Content >Primary Sources select Statutes and Regulations
            • select the appropriate jurisdiction
            • select either statutes or regulations
            • select name in the list and then the section
            • select the Citing References tab.

            Paper

            • This looseleaf citator service provides judicial consideration of Alberta statutes and regulations. A brief digest accompanies each case listed. There are volumes for R.S.A. 1980 & R.S.A. 2000.
            • This multi-volume legal encyclopedia covers common-law Canada and England. It is arranged by subject. It doesn’t provide a Table of Statutes or Regulations to follow. It’s content is more relevant to court procedures and rules.

            Annotated Textbooks
            These publications compiled on specific statutes contain the text of the statute along with annotations. The annotations often provide in-depth information on the judicial consideration the statute has received. Many different annotated statute publications can be located through our catalogue. For example:

            • Alberta Rules of Court Annotated by Allan A. Fradsham Table of Contents
              Judicial consideration is listed for specific sections of the Alberta Rules of Court
            • Halsbury’s Laws of Canada
              This multi-volume set provides judicial consideration of federal and provincial statutes, and statutory instruments in each volume, subject title or particular area of law.

            Abbreviations

            Table of Public Statutes

            • Proc. – Means to come into force on Proclamation but no Proclamation has been issued as of the date of the table.
            • Rep – Means repealed by
            • R & S – Means repealed and superseded by
            • Supp. – refers to amendment acts included in Vol. 13 of RSA 2000, unproclaimed as of Dec. 31, 2000.

            Other

            • O.C. – Order in Council
            • M.O. – Ministerial Order
            • R.S.A. – Revised Statutes of Alberta
            • S.A. – Statutes of Alberts

            Further Resources

            Textbooks

            • Updating Statutes and Regulations for all Canadian Jurisdicitions, 5th ed. by Nancy McCormack & Nathalie Leonard

            E-resources

            • Canadian Legal Research & Writing Guide
            • A Guide to the Legislative Process – Acts and Regulations
            • How to petition the Alberta Legislature to pass a private bill

            Disclaimer: As law librarians, we are pleased to provide you this resource for information and research purposes only – It is not a substitute for professional legal advice. We strive to bring you quality and current information in this resource, but we make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, accessibility, adequacy, or completeness of the information presented here. The sources featured are selected based on professional assessment and opinion, and do not constitute an endorsement, editorial, review, or guarantee.