Bill 27 will make changes needed to execute Alberta Budget

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on April 2, 2026.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

The Alberta government is putting forward legislation amending several key pieces of legislation to deliver on initiatives outlined in Budget 2026.

“Budget 2026 is our plan to face a hard year head on,” said Minister of Finance Nate Horner. “It focuses on what matters, makes careful choices and takes decisive action where it counts.”

Proposed amendments under Bill 27 would enact changes to the province’s auto insurance framework and seniors benefit, as well as changes to allow provincial agencies to co-invest in Alberta-based tech companies.

This legislation would facilitate the nine per cent decrease, announced with this year’s budget, in the income threshold dictating eligibility for seniors benefits in the province.

If passed, the new income threshold to qualify for those benefits including the Alberta Seniors Benefit, Special Needs Assistance for Seniors and Seniors Home Adaptation and Repair Program would be lowered from $34,770 to $32,690 for single individuals. The threshold for couples is being reduced from $56,820 to $53,800.

“Alberta’s government is proud to provide amongst the highest, most robust benefits for seniors in the country,” said Minister of Assisted Living and Social Services Jason Nixon. “But we must also recognize the reality that we are facing. We cannot continue to be an outlier in every aspect.

“We cannot maintain the lowest tax, highest supports and continue to have the most generous threshold to access these supports as our province undergoes such a massive demographic shift.”

Nixon says Budget 2026 still includes a record-high $6.6 billion in funding for seniors supports.

The bill also proposes changes to legislation that oversees insurance to enable transition to a care-first auto insurance system.

The province says the new system will make it easier for Albertans involved in collisions to access medical care and rehabilitative services through their insurer, whether they were at fault or not.

Under the care-first system, individuals involved in an accident would have their medical services paid for by the insurance company rather than pursuing compensation through the at-fault driver’s insurance.

It will also limit the circumstances in which not-at-fault drivers can sue.

The province says proposed amendments would allow insurers to pay a person injured in a collision for goods and services not currently covered under the Automobile Insurance Act. It will also see the minister develop a Program of Care for the treatment of common traffic injuries.

Other amendments are aimed to encourage retention of major tech businesses in the province by enabling the Alberta Enterprise Corporation and Alberta Innovates to act as a minority partner alongside private-sector investments.

Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish says companies will only invest in deals where a proven private-sector investor is leading the financing and set deal terms.

“We partner with the best investors in the world. And when they identify the best companies in Alberta, and they vote with their wallets, we will not have the ability to join them,” he said. “It will ensure that more of the wealth created by Alberta companies stays in Alberta to benefit Albertans.”

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