How Alberta is Leading the Way

Alberta legislated biological sex as the basis for female sport divisions in schools, post-secondary institutions, and provincial sport organizations, making it the first Canadian province to do so by statute. The Act came into force September 1, 2025 and is shielded from Charter challenge by Bill 9's notwithstanding clause. No legal challenge had been filed as of the time of Bill 9's passage, though Egale Canada has stated its intention to challenge the legislation.

Alberta became the first Canadian province to legislatively ban puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-affirming surgeries for minors under 18. After a brief court injunction, Bill 9's notwithstanding clause brought the legislation fully into force in December 2025. A federalism-based challenge was denied in May 2026; an appeal is pending.

Passed December 9, 2025, this Act prohibits professional regulatory bodies from disciplining members for off-duty speech and bans mandatory DEI, cultural competency, and unconscious bias training. Applying to over 40 regulatory bodies and 100+ professions, it directly protects women professionals who have faced regulatory consequences for expressing sex-realist views.

In force September 1, 2025, Bill 27 requires schools to notify parents and obtain written consent before using a student's chosen name or gender-identity pronouns, and mandates parental opt-in for instruction on gender identity and sexuality. Shielded from Charter challenge by Bill 9; a constitutional challenge on non-Charter grounds continues.

Passed December 10, 2025, Bill 9 invoked the notwithstanding clause to shield Bills 26, 27, and 29 from Charter challenge, and additionally suspended the Alberta Bill of Rights and Alberta Human Rights Act in perpetuity — Alberta's most expansive use of override powers and the first notwithstanding clause invocation in Canadian history to protect sex-based rights legislation.

Introduced March 31, 2026, Bill 25 requires teachers and school boards to remain neutral on political, social, and ideological matters, restricts flags in schools to Alberta and Canadian flags, and removes the Education Act's requirement that schools nurture belonging and respect diversity. Not yet passed as of May 21, 2026.

Passed as part of Alberta's spring 2026 legislative session, Bill 28 extends the province's child access restrictions on explicit sexual content from school libraries to all public libraries, requiring materials containing explicit visual depictions of sexual acts to be kept behind the counter or in areas inaccessible to youth aged 15 and under. No books are banned — physical separation and parental consent for borrowing are the operative requirements. The legislation also introduces a universal municipal code of conduct and bans vacant home taxes.

In July 2025, Alberta's Education Minister required school libraries to remove sexually explicit materials from general shelves. An overinclusive initial order that flagged 226 books — including The Handmaid's Tale — was revised in October 2025 to target explicit visual depictions only. By January 2026, 44 books had been removed from Alberta school shelves.

Alberta's Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act makes Alberta the first province to place statutory limits on federally permitted MAID, restricting eligibility to patients within 12 months of natural death, prohibiting MAID for mental illness alone, banning advance requests, and enshrining conscience protections for healthcare workers and facilities. Passed April 22, 2026; awaiting proclamation.