New legislative changes are formalizing Alberta’s private-pay testing scheme that allows the wealthy to jump the line
By Andrew Longhurst
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
July 27, 2026
As premiers and the prime minister gathered in Charlottetown from July 21-23 to discuss public health care at the Council of the Federation, the Alberta government was quietly working to further its two-tier system.
On July 22, the Alberta government approved three Orders in Council that shed light on how the provincial government is building a private health insurance market and undermining equal access to health care services.
The three Orders in Council relate to the implementation of Bill 29 which the legislative assembly introduced in April 2026 as the legal framework for two-tier diagnostic testing without requiring a practitioner’s referral.
This legislation formalizes queue-jumping for those who can pay out of pocket or with private insurance for self-referred testing in order to jump to the front of the line for treatment. It is also a move designed to feed the for-profit health care industry and create a market for private health insurance products.
The first Order in Council brings key provisions of Bill 29—the two-tier diagnostic testing legislation—into force effective July 31.
Read more at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
