New Provincial mandate letters
On Wednesday, September 17, the Premier of Alberta issued new mandate letters to four Ministers:
Mandate letters are issued at the beginning of a term, and these are new letters coming mid-way through this election cycle, with the next provincial election expected in 2027.
Since Immigration was added to the Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Trade in the May 2025 Cabinet shuffle, a new mandate letter isn't unusual. The Minister for Tourism and Sport was also new in his portfolio in that shuffle, so a new mandate letter is also not out of the ordinary. The other two Ministries have remained constant and new mandate letters may reflect changing priorities and a direction reset. All new mandate letters emphasize the progress on commitments from the initial mandates.
We are working on a detailed look and analysis of these new mandates, which will be out early next week, and in the meantime, here are a few quick takeaways.
Arts, Culture, Status of Women:
The Indigenous repatriation commitment and Gender-Based Violence strategy are complete and moving to implementation
Continuing to grow Alberta's cultural industries, without emphasis on Alberta-specific content as in the original mandate
Women in STEM, Francophone and LGBTQ+ engagement, and a building naming policy were all present in original mandate but absent in the new one
Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration:
Youth employment and skilled trades remain a priority
An addition to the new mandate is to “use all legal means to secure more provincial control over international immigration to Alberta for the purpose of achieving a more sustainable level of immigration with a focus on economic migrants able to contribute to the growth of our economy.”
Tourism and Sport:
The Alberta Tourism Strategy and the All-Seasons Resorts Act are complete and moving to implementation
An addition to the new mandate is to “Ensure the full implementation of the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act using all available legal and constitutional means necessary.”
Establishing a dedicated tourism and hospitality immigration stream in Alberta (with the Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism) was in the original mandate and absent in the new one
Forestry and Parks:
Modernization of the Wildlife Act and the Rangeland Grazing Framework are complete and moving to implementation
The new mandate letter still includes a directive to complete a Recreation and Conservation Strategy
Wildfire mitigation and risk reduction has been added to the new mandate as a priority