Fall Session Begins with Sovereignty, Education, and Labour at the Forefront
Alberta’s MLAs returned to the Legislature last week on October 27th for the start of the Fall session amid a province-wide teachers’ strike that had entered its fourth week. The session opened with a new Throne Speech, outlining the government’s priorities for the upcoming session.
Government House Leader Joseph Schow announced that the government plans to introduce at least 15 pieces of legislation during this sitting. These bills will focus on areas such as protecting provincial jurisdiction, modernizing Alberta’s water regulations, and improving public safety. The most significant and controversial measure came in the form of legislation to mandate an end to the teachers’ strike, which has left over 700,000 students out of the classroom.
Throne Speech Highlights
Opening the second session of the 31st Legislature, Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani delivered a Speech from the Throne on behalf of His Majesty the King, outlining Premier Danielle Smith’s priorities over the next session. With a notable undertone surrounding Albertan sovereignty, this session’s Throne Speech has a number of broad but critical highlights to cover.
Intergovernmental Relations and Energy Opportunities
Capitalizing on recent federal announcements with respect to resource-based projects, namely the east to west pipeline project, the speech asserted “the world needs more Alberta energy, not less”. In part, the speech credits the continued advocacy of Smith’s government in “turning the tide of national opinion” back in favour of fossil fuel-based projects. Pledging to continue development “until Alberta has doubled its oil and gas production,” the Speech makes it clear that this can only be achieved through a strong focus on developing cooperative inter-provincial, federal, and international relations.
Economy and Budget
Acknowledging the province’s ongoing budget deficit, this session’s speech commits Alberta to “calm, steady, and smart fiscal leadership.” Notably, as outlined in the Speech, this will be achieved through a comprehensive government spending review, efforts to diversify the provincial economy, and an overall shift in immigration policy. As such, it should be unsurprising to see potential austerity measures following the spending review.
Healthcare
An area of notable contention for Alberta has been the recent overhaul of the healthcare system. This session’s speech referenced the apparent success of such actions in reducing wait times, increasing front-line staff, and reducing bureaucratic spending. Additionally, the reference to “specialized chartered surgical centres” within the speech indicates that the government is seeking to, at the very minimum, expand the private healthcare ecosystem within the province.
Justice and Public Safety
This session’s speech included a number of bold statements surrounding pledges to “fund, not defund the police,” “seek justice for victims, not excuses for the guilty,” and refusal to support “any federal seizure program” with respect to firearms. It is unsurprising that with public safety growing as a concern for Canadians writ large, Alberta would seek to oppose Ottawa so fervently.
Sovereignty
It should be of no small note that this session’s speech concluded explicitly with the subject of sovereignty. Stating “sovereignty does not mean separation,” the speech highlighted Alberta’s intent to continue engaging with Ottawa while seeking “a proper constitutional balance.”
Nenshi’s First Question Period
NDP leader Naheed Nenshi took his seat in the Legislature for the first time since winning a by-election in Edmonton-Strathcona last June. During his first Question Period, Nenshi went on the offensive against Premier Smith over her government’s handling of education. Both leaders traded sharp accusations, referencing each other’s records in public service.
Nenshi accused the premier of engineering the strike and claimed that under the UCP, “public education funding has fallen to the lowest per capita in the nation.” He argued that years of underfunding have led to overcrowded classrooms, increasing complexity and stagnant teacher wages.
Premier Smith responded by defending her government’s record. “This government stands on its action: $8.6 billion for new school construction, 130 new schools by 2030,” she said. “We are going to be giving up to a 17 per cent pay increase to teachers. Three thousand new teachers, 3,000 new education assistants: that’s the record of this government,” the Premier added.
The fiery exchange drew cheers and jeers across the chamber and set the tone for what is expected to be a contentious fall sitting. Nenshi’s debut appeared to mark a clear shift in tone for the Opposition, one that was more direct, more rhetorical, and aimed at positioning the NDP as a credible alternative to the UCP government.
Despite his high profile as a former three-term mayor of Calgary, polling suggests that the NDP continue to lag behind the UCP since Nenshi became leader. A recent Leger poll shows that the UCP maintains a lead provincewide, with the NDP trailing by roughly five percentage points. Nenshi’s challenge will be converting his growing visibility into broader appeal across the province, particularly as education and labour issues dominate the political agenda – issues that are traditional strengths for Alberta’s NDP.
Bill 2 Passes: Students Return to Class
On Monday, the government introduced the highly anticipated Bill 2: Back to School Act, legislating an end to the teachers’ strike. Following a long night in the Legislature, the bill passed into law in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Government House Leader, Joseph Schow, invoked several procedural motions to limit debate across all three stages of the bill, drawing sharp criticism from the Opposition. NDP MLA Heather Sweet called the move “an absolute democratic betrayal in the making.”
Bill 2 enacts the terms of a tentative agreement reached in September 2025, which had been rejected by nearly 90 per cent of Alberta teachers. The legislation imposes a four-year contract, in effect from September 1, 2024, to August 31, 2028. It includes a 12 per cent salary increase and funding to hire 3,000 teachers and 1,500 educational assistants. With the bill’s passage, teachers and students returned to class on October 29th.
The government justifies the legislation, voicing concern for the well-being of students and the inability of both sides to reach an agreement. Last Tuesday, Minister of Education, Demetrios Nicolaides, commented: “As I spoke to Bill 2 yesterday, I spoke about the severe consequences that students are going through right now because of the strike, academic disruption, social disruption, psychological disruption, so I’m comfortable that the kids will be going back so that they can have that routine, have that structure, continue with their academics and their social development.”
The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) responded with strong condemnation of both the back-to-work order and the government’s use of the notwithstanding clause, which allows provincial and territorial governments to override certain Charter rights for five years. Speaking to reporters outside the Legislature, ATA president Jason Schilling said, “We saw a government use the legislature to ram through what they feel is a fair settlement and then use the notwithstanding clause to prohibit the rights of teachers.”
The ATA has indicated plans to pursue all available legal avenues to challenge the legislation. Meanwhile, other public sector unions in the province have threatened to strike in support of teachers and to protest the government’s actions.
Ultimately, the first week of the fall session underscores the high political stakes facing the Smith government. With education, labour issues, fiscal management, and sovereignty all vying for the spotlight, the Legislature is poised for a contentious sitting that will shape provincial politics heading into 2026.