Assisted Living Alberta is a new provincial health agency in Alberta, officially launched on April 1, 2025, and is becoming fully operational by Fall 2025

United Nurses of Alberta has been informed that, effective September 1, 2025, close to 5,000 positions held by Registered Nurses represented by the union have been identified for transfer from Alberta Health Services to Acute Care Alberta (ACA), the three provincial health care corporations overseen by ACA, and Assisted Living Alberta (ALA). The process is expected to be the same as previous transfers (i.e. from AHS to Recovery Alberta and from AHS to Primary Care Alberta)

The government says these position transfers affecting UNA members will be broken down as follows:

  • 56 to the Emergency Health Services (EHS) provincial health care corporation, under ACA
  • 936 to the Cancer Care Alberta (CCA) provincial health care corporation, under ACA
  • 3,969 to the Assisted Living Alberta provincial health care agency

Letter of Understanding:
RE: Transition of Employees Pursuant to the Health Statutes Amendment Act

The Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, enables the government to establish provincial health agencies and transfer employees from Alberta Health Services (AHS) to these new agencies.  AHS and the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) have agreed on a plan to support a smooth transition while protecting patient services.

The agreement will remain in effect until March 31, 2027, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.

Employees whose positions are designated for transfer will receive official notification via their AHS email accounts. Formal transfer notices are expected to be sent to employees between July 21 and 24, 2025

Upon notification, employees have the following options:

  • Accept the Transfer: Employees who accept will transition, retain their current terms and conditions of employment, including pay, benefits, pension, seniority, and vacation entitlements.

  • Decline the Transfer: Employees who decline can exercise their rights under Article 15: Layoff and Recall to remain with AHS. Depending on available positions, this may involve displacement or reassignment within AHS.

Key points from the agreement:

  • The Employer will notify all affected employees and provide them with the option to transfer or decline. Those who don’t respond by the 10-business-day deadline will be considered to have agreed to transfer.
  • Employees on leave (e.g., medical, WCB) will be notified when they’re ready to return, and their transfers will be delayed until they return to work.
  • Transferred employees won’t need to redo their probation periods.
  • Employees already working in AHS and the new health agency can hold casual jobs with both.

More information can be found in the Collective Agreement Highlights in the: 

May 2025 newsletter (review of the Letter of Understanding)

December 2024 newsletter (Article 14.07 and Article 15) 

June 2024 newsletter (more on Article 15 – Layoff and Recall)