Province plans to move all Alberta Sheriffs staff members into new Alberta Sheriffs Police Service, offering an opportunity for members to become full police officers after a six-week training course.--CP FILE PHOTO
zmason@medicinehatnews.com
A bill tabled Tuesday proposes moving all staff from the Alberta Sheriffs to the new Alberta Sheriffs Police Service.
The ASPS was established as a Crown Corporation during the spring session of the legislature in 2025. The new legislation would move employees from the Alberta Sheriffs to the new entity, and provide opportunity for staff currently performing “police-like duties” to pursue a career as ASPS police officers, subject to training and qualification requirements.
Eligible staff would include officers currently filling roles such as highway patrol, surveillance and fugitive apprehension. Around 600 sheriffs currently fill these kinds of roles.
Other sheriffs would continue performing existing peace officer duties, including courthouse security and prisoner transport.
All staff and functions of the old Alberta Sheriffs branch will be transitioned to the authority of the ASPS.
All current sheriffs are considered peace officers. Those eligible to become ASPS police officers would be required to undergo further training and meet other eligibility requirements to change their role.
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis estimates eligible sheriffs would require about six weeks worth of additional training to become fully empowered police officers.
He says the legislation will provide a common-sense pathway that will allow skilled sheriffs to transition into the new service without reapplication to help prevent delays or disruptions in public safety.
“The reality is that many sheriffs are already performing police-like duties every single day, supporting communities right across the province, and they bring extensive frontline experience and proven leadership than Albertans already rely on,” said Ellis.
The Alberta Sheriffs has around 1,200 staff. It is unclear how much additional hiring would be required to stand up the new service.
The government has not shared a timeline for the transition, nor has any information regarding the costs of the transition been released. However, Ellis says the legislation will move the Alberta Sheriffs budget into the new Crown corporation.
In last year’s budget, the Alberta Sheriffs received about $156 million in funding.
Further information is anticipated following the release of Budget 2026 on Thursday.
Ellis says the ASPS will provide municipalities with more flexibility about how to meet their local policing needs. He says the Town of Coaldale is among the first municipalities to express interest in obtaining ASPS service.
The minister did not clarify whether the legislation represents another step in the direction of replacing RCMP policing in Alberta.
“We’re going to continue the conversations with the federal government,” said Ellis when asked when the government would make a decision about the future of the RCMP in Alberta. “I need to know what that funding model is going to look like.”
Ellis did not offer a figure for the level of federal funding his government is seeking from Ottawa.
The minister said the measure aims to address worsening violent crime in the province despite an improved crime severity index. However, the violent crime index actually decreased more than the overall crime severity index last year.
“I mean, we only have to look at what happened in Calgary last night, where there was again more gun violence,” said Ellis. “That’s a reality.
“You can cite a whole bunch of stats, and that’s why I said crime severity index is going down. But the reality is, if you don’t feel safe, then we need to do better.”
Ellis says peace officers and police officers working for the ASPS will be clearly distinguished with distinct uniforms.
All collective agreements for Alberta Sheriffs staff will follow employees to the new agency.
