Proposed Changes to Alberta Professional Regulatory Regime

On May 8, 2025, Bill 40 – the Professional Governance Act – received its third reading in the Alberta Legislature. The Bill represents a significant change to the professional regulatory regime in Alberta. 

Once Proclaimed, Bill 40 will consolidate nine acts and 28 regulations governing 22 separate non-health professional regulatory organizations including the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta, the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta, the Alberta Institute of Agrologists, the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, and the Alberta Association of Architects. The impacted enactments are:

  • The Agrology Profession Act;
  • The Architects Act;
  • The Chartered Professional Accountants Act;
  • The Consulting Engineers of Alberta Act;
  • The Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act;
  • The Land Surveyors Act;
  • The Professional and Occupational Associations Registration Act;
  • The Regulated Forest Management Profession Act; and
  • The Veterinary Profession Act.

Bill 40 largely resembles the framework utilized by the current Chartered Professional Accountants Act, SA 2014, c C-10 (“CPAA”), which, upon the coming into force of the Professional Governance Act, will be repealed. It does, however, expand upon the CPAA by:

  • adding additional types of unprofessional conduct such as displaying a lack of knowledge, skill, or judgment;
  • creating an express duty for individuals subject to Bill 40 to report unprofessional conduct;
  • broadening the types of conduct that can result in fines;
  • increasing the maximum amount of fines; and
  • streamlining the process to turn penalties and fines into enforceable judgments.

Greater Emphasis on Competency

Bill 40 also increases the emphasis on professional competency. For example, Bill 40 requires all professional regulatory organizations to establish, maintain, and administer a continuing competence program, which will be mandatory for all registrants. Individuals tasked with overseeing the continuing competence program will be required to report registrants who display a lack of competence to the Complaints Inquiry Committee secretary of the professional regulatory organization.

Greater Ministerial Oversight

Bill 40 contains ministerial oversight powers far greater than those contained in the CPAA. Under the CPAA, consultation with the Minister of Advanced Education (the “Minister”) is required before the board establishes or amends the academic requirements for registrants. Although the board is required to consider the comments received from the Minister, the Minister does not have final say. Similarly, although the board is required to provide any proposed rules of professional conduct to the Minister for review and comment, the Minister has no authority to override the rules of professional conduct prepared by the board.

In contrast, Bill 40 requires each professional regulatory organization to prepare a code of ethics and conduct and practice standards and guidelines for registrants in accordance with the regulations (which do not yet exist). A copy of any proposed code of ethics and conduct and proposed practice standards and guidelines must be made available to the Minister for review and comment. The Minister is expressly empowered to disallow or amend each code of ethics and conduct and practice standards and guidelines.

Bill 40 also grants the Minister the power to appoint and revoke the appointment of the public members who serve on the board of the professional regulatory organization, serve on a discipline tribunal, and serve on an appeal tribunal. Public members appointed by the Minister are expressly responsible for ensuring that the professional regulatory organization is protecting the public interest by representing the values and interests of Albertans, monitoring the professional regulatory organization’s ability to act fairly and transparently in adhering to its statutory requirements, and performing any other powers, duties, or functions prescribed by the regulations. Under CPAA, the power to appoint public members is exercised by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The CPAA does not contain any provisions entitling the Lieutenant Governor in Council to revoke a public member’s appointment.

Finally, the Minister is empowered by Bill 40 to direct a “professional governance officer” to conduct a designation review of a professional regulatory organization subject to the legislation. The Minister can make a recommendation to the Lieutenant Governor in Council to appoint an administrator of the professional organization where the Minister believes, among other things, that the public interest requires it. Where the Lieutenant Governor in Council appoints an administrator at the Minister’s recommendation, Bill 40 provides an express right of judicial review of that decision. The administrator provisions in Bill 40 are new. The CPAA does not contain any equivalent language.

Coming Into Force

Bill 40 will come into force on Proclamation, which is anticipated to occur in June 2026. The government has indicated that implementation will be staggered for the various professional regulatory organizations affected and that the Ministry of Advanced Education is working directly with the impacted professional regulatory organizations to develop regulations, which are expected to be announced in the fall of 2025.