Canada News
Alberta to become 1st province with mandatory ’citizenship markers’ on driver’s licences
Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally, pictured in March, said adding Canadian citizenship markers and health-care card numbers to driver’s licences is a necessary change. (Emmanuel Prince-Thauvette/Radio-Canada)
PHOTO: (EMMANUEL PRINCE-THAUVETTE/RADIO-CANADA)
By RCI, CBC News
Citizenship, health card number on driver’s licences, ID cards to roll out in late 2026.
The government of Alberta announced Monday that driver’s licences and identification cards will feature Canadian citizenship markers.
The mandatory change, which is the first of its kind in Canada, will roll out in late 2026, Premier Danielle Smith told reporters.
We believe in making things better, faster and more convenient for everyone,
she said.
Adding citizenship information to driver’s licences allows for Albertans to more effectively apply for funding and services like student aid, health benefits and disability supports.
This change means that when Albertans need to prove both their identity and their citizenship, they’ll be able to do so with a single document,
Smith said.
The change is also about protecting our democracy,
she said, noting that the change will help preserve the integrity and security of elections.
Smith said permanent residents and non-citizens living in Alberta will have no marker displayed on their card.
Government ‘creating bureaucracy’: NDP
In a statement, the Alberta NDP’s Lizette Tejada, shadow minister for immigration and multiculturalism, said the change is creating bureaucracy and red tape for everyone.
This UCP government has not been able to provide clarity on why this citizenship marker is necessary,
she said. Other than voting, we cannot identify any programs that are exclusively offered to Canadian citizens.
She said the new change is a headache
for Albertans who don’t have a passport or are forced to find their old birth certificate just to renew their driver’s licence.
Albertans will need to provide proof of citizenship or immigration status when applying for or renewing a driver’s licence, according to the province.
Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally said the federal government was consulted on the change.
The feds cannot provide us with one single source of data that tells us who’s Canadian, who’s not,
he said. So that tells us right away that this is necessary.
‘A complete redesign’
Driver’s licences incorporating Alberta health-care card information will roll out at the same time, Smith said.
This will also provide additional security around health-care numbers,
Smith said.
Smith said there are over 530,000 more health-care numbers than there are people living in Alberta.
Nally said the way AHS was doing it previously just lacked security.
In the fall of 2026, we will now know who has Alberta health-care cards,
he said. There won’t be half a million fake ones, which opens up the door for abuses.
These changes are part of a complete redesign
of the Alberta driver’s licence and identification card.
There’s going to be more to come on that, but these changes will prove the security, convenience and functionality of Alberta driver’s licences,
Nally said.
Adding citizenship markers will come at no additional cost to those applying for or renewing their driver’s licence.
A visual mockup of the new licence has not been shared, but Nally said the citizenship marker will consist of a simple CAN code
on the card.
