Alberta pauses ambulance contract overhaul for 7 communities

Alberta's government has put the brakes on its ambulance service restructuring, pausing a contentious contract overhaul that would have forced seven municipalities to choose between spending more on emergency services or handing them over to the province.

Hospital and Surgical Health Services Minister Adriana LaGrange announced the delay Monday via social media, telling the affected municipalities' mayors that the province needs more time. "We must deliver emergency health services in a consistent, fiscally responsible and patient-focused way — and we need to get this right," the post read.

The decision gives communities until 2028-29 to absorb new benchmark pricing for ambulance contracts, rather than the original fall timeline. Seven municipalities — Red Deer, St. Albert, Strathcona County, Leduc, Spruce Grove, Lethbridge, and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo — had previously been told to decide by May whether to keep their integrated model (where firefighters are trained paramedics) or surrender the service to the province.

Red Deer, Strathcona County, and St. Albert chose to keep their integrated services. Leduc, Spruce Grove, and Lethbridge opted to hand operations to the province. The move sparked fierce local opposition over concerns of potential layoffs and slower response times.

Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen issued a statement saying he is "grateful the province is taking a second look at how best to move forward." Elliott Davis, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters - Alberta, said firefighter-paramedics "thank Minister LaGrange for her decision to pause the current process, and take the time needed to work with municipalities and front-line workers to get this right." The pause marks the second major health-services reversal by the Alberta government in two weeks — LaGrange also shelved a contentious paramedic service rebranding on June 10.