UCP pushes to fasttrack Alberta Sheriffs Police Service with Bill 15

The Alberta government says it’s moving quickly to get the ball rolling on a new police service for the province.

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The Alberta government says it’s moving quickly to get the ball rolling on a new police service for the province. It has introduced Bill 15, which the government says will speed up this change while making sure police work on the streets continues without problems.

If this law passes, Bill 15, also known as the Public Safety and Emergency Services Statutes Amendment Act, 2026, would legally set the stage for turning the Alberta Sheriffs into the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service (ASPS). This new police force would be a separate, provincially-owned corporation. The province states these changes are meant to keep law enforcement and public safety running smoothly while the new agency is being set up.

Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said this action is a response to the growing problem of serious and complex crimes across Alberta.

“Criminals are becoming more sophisticated, and we’re meeting that threat head-on by transforming the Alberta Sheriffs into a modern police service,” Ellis said in a statement. “We are putting more boots on the ground and giving our officers the high-tier training they need to combat the complex crime facing our province today.”

The new law would let current sheriff peace officers who already do police-like work become officers in the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service (ASPS). They would just need to meet new training rules under Alberta’s Police Act. The government believes this will be a faster way to grow the new police force instead of only hiring people from outside.

Other sheriffs will keep their current peace officer jobs. This will make sure that police work continues across the province while the change happens.

Sat Parhar, the chief of the ASPS, said that bringing in experienced sheriffs will help the province build up the new service faster than hiring only new people.

“Because sheriffs already perform many police-like functions, integrating them into the ASPS allows us to stand up the service faster and with a depth of experience that would take years to build through new hiring alone,” Parhar said.

Alberta is moving quickly to create a new provincial police service, called the Alberta Provincial Police Service (ASPS), under Bill 15.

Right now, the Alberta Sheriffs are government workers. The new ASPS would be an independent Crown corporation. The government says this setup will allow the new service to be more flexible while still being responsible to the public.

Bill 15 will also move all current sheriffs staff, including peace officers, civilian workers, and managers, to the new organization. The province promises that employees will keep their current job terms during and after the change. A law passed last year already gives future ASPS officers the right to form their own police association to negotiate their contracts.

In addition to changing the sheriffs’ branch, the bill suggests updates to the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) Act, a law that lets officials shut down properties used for crime. The government says ASPS officers would be allowed to enforce this act all over the province. This will expand the law’s use as the new service grows.

The Alberta Sheriffs currently employ about 1,200 people. If the bill passes, all these staff members will move to the ASPS.

The province has not given a firm date for when the change will be finished. However, it says the new laws are meant to make sure things remain steady and continuous as the new police service is established.