Alberta is making administrative changes to its privacy and access to information laws to support the rollout of two new acts replacing the province’s long-standing FOIP legislation
The changes come through Bill 46, the Protection of Privacy and Access to Information Statutes Amendment Act, which updates both the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) and the Access to Information Act (ATIA). The legislation is based on feedback gathered from public bodies during consultations held in January and February 2025.
The amendments aim to clarify how privacy protections apply to data derived from personal information, align legal language between the two acts, and prepare for broader changes across Alberta’s legislative framework.
“These changes focus on clarity and consistency and will ensure the smooth implementation of the two new acts, while strengthening privacy protections and access to information in Alberta,” said Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction.
Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish said the updates reflect Alberta’s effort to modernize its privacy framework. “Bill 46… is another step forward in our commitment to modernizing our privacy legislation to better protect the privacy of Albertans,” said Glubish.
Among the key changes, the legislation clarifies that non-personal data and data derived from personal information must still comply with privacy rules under POPA and are not subject to access requests under the ATIA. It also affirms that provisions around data disclosure do not restrict the use of aggregated or statistical data and explicitly exempts the Office of Statistics and Information from rules on data matching.
The amendments also introduce new regulatory powers to support upcoming consequential updates to any Alberta laws that currently reference the outgoing Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
The Protection of Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act were passed in December 2024 and are set to come into force in spring 2025, alongside new supporting regulations.
