{"id":292851,"date":"2025-11-19T08:22:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T08:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/292851\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T08:22:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T08:22:14","slug":"mixed-reaction-to-proposed-alberta-drivers-licence-changes-adding-citizenship-health-card-info","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/292851\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixed reaction to proposed Alberta driver\u2019s licence changes adding citizenship, health card info"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s said to be a few extra letters on Albertans\u2019 driver\u2019s licences or ID cards that can save you time \u2014 and space in your wallet.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762614923_240_70c8fc80.png\" alt=\"\" style=\"position:absolute;width:1px;height:1px\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is about red tape reduction, making life easier for Albertans,\u201d said Service Alberta minister Dale Nally.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/alberta-government\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alberta government<\/a> on Monday introduced a bill that, if passed, would add mandatory citizenship information to the same card that carries your photo, address and driver\u2019s information.<\/p>\n<p>Nally, along with Premier Danielle Smith, said it can simplify the process when accessing health care, student aid, or even at the ballot box during elections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know that when Albertans apply for benefits, there\u2019s identification they have to provide,\u201d Nally said. \u201cOften they don\u2019t have their birth certificate\u2026 so having your citizenship marker on the drivers\u2019 licence is going to offer Albertans convenience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>The updated ID card could also carry your personal health number, saving you from having to carry the personal paper card that has been an inconvenience for some Albertans for years.<\/p>\n<p>That addition, however, will remain optional.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/national.jpg\" alt=\"For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tGet breaking National news<\/p>\n<p>For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(It\u2019s been inconvenient) since I moved to Alberta in 1995,\u201d remarked Calgarian Lori Patzer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-blockquote__content l-article__blockquoteContent\">\u201cWe absolutely need an update to the health care card.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While some Canadian provinces <a href=\"https:\/\/residents.gov.mb.ca\/reference.html?d=details&amp;program_id=303\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">have offered enhanced identification in the past<\/a>, Alberta would not only become the first Canadian jurisdiction currently including citizenship on ID cards, but also be the only jurisdiction in Canada to make the change mandatory.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Alberta adding proof of Canadian citizenship to provincial driver\u2019s licences'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/5P-CITIZENSHIPS-ON-LICE.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   data-\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:30<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlberta adding proof of Canadian citizenship to provincial driver\u2019s licences\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCompletely unnecessary,\u201d said Gurinder Brar, NDP MLA for Calgary North-East. \u201cI have yet to see a single service provided by the Government of Alberta that requires the citizenship mark on the driver\u2019s licence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11531303\/family-missing-alberta-boy-details-disappearance\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763540533_898_darius-gransparents-fire_1.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Can\u2019t lose hope\u2019: Family of missing Alberta boy shares details of his disappearance\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11531238\/family-dead-istanbul-tourists-poison-investigation-hotel\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/hotel-poison-turkey.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t11 arrested, more tourists hospitalized as Istanbul poisoning mystery deepens\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Brar also echoed concerns about the potential for discrimination, which surfaced after the province <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11428819\/alberta-drivers-licences-canadian-citizenship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">previously announced the plans<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no discrimination involved,\u201d Nally stated. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine a scenario where that would come up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNobody trusts (Nally) when he says that,\u201d Brar retorted.<\/p>\n<p>Albertans who spoke to Global News said they weren\u2019t too concerned about privacy issues, even before hearing the health-care information would remain optional.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore on Politics<br \/>\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t see the problem with combining the efficiency of all three together,\u201d Patzer explained. \u201cI don\u2019t have a problem with it at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf criminals want to figure (out your health-care information), or if that gas station clerk wants to figure it out, they can do it regardless,\u201d stated Calgarian Raelyn Matchen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGive them whatever number you want.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The province says the changes will happen gradually as Albertans renew their licences or ID cards.<\/p>\n<p>According to a government official, the changes, which include additional security measures, will cost an an extra $1 million each year, an increase of roughly 75 per cent.<\/p>\n<p>If passed, the new identification cards will begin circulating in late 2026.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t&amp;copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s said to be a few extra letters on Albertans\u2019 driver\u2019s licences or ID cards that can save&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[132290,132291,7611,49,48,44,714],"class_list":{"0":"post-292851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-alberta-drivers-licence","9":"tag-alberta-drivers-licence-changes","10":"tag-alberta-legislature","11":"tag-ca","12":"tag-canada","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}