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.