Alberta to Ban Municipalities From Imposing Their Own COVID-19 Restrictions

Public health is the responsibility of the province, not of municipalities, Premier Kenney says

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks at the United Conservative Party annual meeting in Calgary, Alta., on Nov. 20, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Larry MacDougal)

The Alberta government is moving to ban municipalities from enacting their own COVID-19 public health restrictions, including mask mandates.

Premier Jason Kenney says his government will introduce legislation as early as next week to amend the Municipal Government Act (MGA), which will remove the ability of municipalities to enact “their own separate public health restrictions.”

“We are concerned that a patchwork of separate policies across the province could just lead to greater division, confusion, enforcement difficulty, with no compelling public health rationale,” Kenney said at a press conference on March 1. 

“And we certainly shouldn’t allow political science to be substituted for public health science.” 

As of March 1, Alberta has dropped almost all of its COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates in most settings. However, Edmonton continues to mandate masks for its residents—the only municipality in the province to do so.

“The City of Edmonton’s Temporary Mandatory Face Coverings bylaw remains in place and requires all individuals 2 years of age and older to wear a face covering in Edmonton’s indoor public spaces and public vehicles until further action is taken,” the city announced on March 1. 

If the legislation introduced by the Kenney government passes, the province will be in a position to override Edmonton’s mask bylaw. 

The new Mayor of Edmonton Amarjeet Sohi takes part in a swearing in ceremony in Edmonton Alta, on Oct. 26, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Jason Franson)

Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi condemned Kenney’s move as an “overreach” by the provincial government in a series of tweets following the premier’s announcement. 

“Such overreach, it goes beyond the mask bylaw,” said Sohi in an audio post on March 1. 

“It could restrict our ability to manage other areas, it could restrict other municipalities’ ability to make decisions that are in the best interest of the local citizens. It is stepping into an area that municipalities have done a pretty good job of, protecting the well-being of our citizens.” 

The mayor also criticized the provincial government for encouraging and expecting municipalities to pass their own health and safety bylaws based on local realities earlier in the pandemic, then removing that same authority without first consulting them.

“It can affect all municipalities across the province if the GoA [Government of Alberta] decides to alter the MGA whenever they dislike a policy a municipality has in place," Sohi tweeted. 

When asked during the press conference about the decision to amend the MGA, Kenney stressed that public health is the responsibility of the provincial government, not of municipalities. 

“We have shown flexibility for municipalities that at various times through COVID, brought in their own measures, and we wanted to demonstrate that flexibility,” the premier said. 

Kenney added that he had indicated at a press conference on Feb. 8 that if municipalities decided to create separate COVID policies themselves, the province might intervene. 

“We’ve given them considerable notice,” he said. 

The move to amend the MGA is not about disrespecting a choice to wear masks in public, Kenney said, but that it is for “policy consistency.” 

“We absolutely respect the right of Edmontonians to wear masks and all Albertans to wear masks,” he said. 

“What Edmonton wants to do is not to respect the choice of people not to wear masks. So, what we’re embracing here is choice, and respect for those choices as opposed to a division for political reasons.”