Alberta’s Opposition justice critic said he has few objections to Bill 15 itself but is raising concerns about recruitment, training and potential costs tied to the proposed Alberta Sheriffs Police Service.
During the Feb. 25 sitting of the Alberta legislature, Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis tabled Bill 15, also known as the Public Safety and Emergency Services Statutes Amendment Act. If passed, the bill would allow peace officers serving as Alberta sheriffs who perform police-like duties to become Alberta Sheriffs Police Service officers. They would need to meet the training and qualification requirements under the Police Act.
David Shepherd, justice critic for the Alberta NDP, said the bill appears largely administrative.
“Go through Bill 15 with the Minister’s staff. It looks largely, this is largely an innocuous bill, largely about the transfer of Alberta Sheriffs from the Alberta Sheriffs if they wish to move to the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service. So ensuring that they have continuity of their collective agreement and all those things remain in place,” Shepherd said.
Ellis said the transfer will put more boots on the ground and give officers “the high-tier training they need to combat the complex crime facing our province today.” He added that it would also fill gaps and make the province safer and stronger.
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Shepherd questioned this claim, especially when addressing policing shortages in rural Alberta. He questioned how the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service would avoid the same recruitment challenges.
“This legislation allowing Alberta Sheriffs to transfer from one side over to the ASPS is not putting any more boots on the ground,” he said. “The minister is going to have a difficult time meeting demand… Because we know we have vacancies in key areas like highway patrol, in court support, in prisoner transfer, if we are moving more Sheriffs away from those key services while the Minister is having the same problems as every other police service in Canada in terms of recruitment.”
Shepherd also raised concerns about comments from Ellis that sheriffs could receive roughly six weeks of additional training to become police officers.
“The fact is there is a significant difference between a Sheriff and a fully trained police officer. So to say that’s going to be fully accomplished within six weeks, I would certainly have some questions about that.”
He also criticized the lack of publicly available cost estimates for the transition, saying municipal leaders have yet to see a business plan.
“They have seen no idea of how this is going to operate, and they have yet to see any cost.”
Shepherd said it adds to concerns municipalities already have with the province’s police funding model, which he said has led to steep increases in policing costs in some communities.
“So that highlights even more why it’s so essential that the Minister actually provide some transparency on certainly what he’s going to be charging municipalities, but also what is the cost going to be to Alberta taxpayers?” Shepherd said.
He also questioned the province’s claim that a provincial police service could operate at a lower cost than the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
“Either the Minister is going to have to pay commensurate with police officers in the province of Alberta, which means that costs are decidedly, it’s going to be very difficult for him to find any savings, or he’s going to pay less, in which case I can’t see how he’s going to find many recruits.”
Shepherd added that there are opportunities across Alberta for sheriffs who want to become police officers and earn a police officer’s wage.
“There is no shortage of police services in the province of Alberta, including the RCMP, I would be very happy to provide them with the proper training and better pay.”
Shepherd said when the United Conservative Party government tables Budget 2026 on Feb. 26, he will be watching closely for details on the cost of operating the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service.
