Article IV · Revision 1 · 2026-05-20 provincial

The Judicial Branch

Full Text

Summary

Background

Revisions

Discussion

Judicial Authority

Vests judicial power in Alberta's courts, including a Provincial Court, an Appellate Court, and any others the Assembly creates, and directs those courts to interpret and apply Alberta law. Parts of this go beyond what Alberta can do on its own, because superior court judges are currently appointed and paid by the federal government.

Judicial Independence

Requires judges to decide cases based only on law, free from political or outside pressure, and allows removal only for serious misconduct through a fair process. This restates a constitutional principle already recognized in Canadian law and applies it explicitly to provincially appointed judges.

Appointments and Tenure

Creates a merit-based appointments committee (including lawyers, Assembly members, and civil society) to recommend provincial judges, who then hold office during good behaviour. Applying this to superior court judges (Court of King's Bench, Court of Appeal) would require a federal constitutional amendment, since Ottawa currently controls those appointments.

Final Appellate Jurisdiction

Keeps the Supreme Court of Canada as the final court of appeal for now, while leaving open the possibility of a provincial final court in the future. Establishing that court would require the unanimous agreement of Parliament and every provincial legislature.

Constitutional Review and Remedies

Gives Alberta courts full authority to strike down any law or government action that conflicts with this constitution, and to award a wide range of remedies. Alberta courts already exercise this kind of review power under the Constitution of Canada.

Federal Law and Alberta Sovereignty

States that where Alberta law and federal law irreconcilably conflict on a matter of provincial jurisdiction, Alberta's constitution prevails. This reverses the current federal rule that federal law wins such conflicts, and would require a multi-government constitutional amendment to take legal effect.

Criminal Law and Transitional Jurisdiction

For now, Alberta courts would keep administering the federal Criminal Code. The Assembly would take full control of criminal law only through a lawful constitutional change. Criminal law is currently an exclusively federal power, so any full shift would require either a constitutional amendment or a negotiated transition.

Access to Justice and Legal Continuity

Guarantees every person the right to access the courts and requires the province to fund legal help for those who cannot afford it. It also ensures that existing court proceedings and appointments stay valid through any constitutional transition.

Vests judicial power in Alberta's courts
Affirms judicial independence and merit-based appointments
Asserts provincial primacy over federal law on matters of provincial jurisdiction
Provides transitional jurisdiction over criminal law until full provincial control
Guarantees access to justice and the continuity of pending proceedings

Why this article is proposed

The structure of Alberta's courts today rests on the federal Constitution Act, 1867 (the superior court appointment power), federal statute (the Supreme Court of Canada), and provincial statute (the Provincial Court, Court of King's Bench rules, and Court of Appeal procedure). This article proposes to write Alberta's part of that picture into a provincial constitution and to flag where Alberta would want changes if the broader constitutional framework allowed.

What it would change

Article IV restates several principles already in force in Alberta law: judicial independence, merit-based appointment of provincial judges, and judicial review for constitutional consistency. It also stakes out three positions that go past what Alberta can do under section 45 alone:

Article IV s1 and s3 assert provincial control over courts and judges that are constitutionally superior courts, currently appointed by the federal government under Constitution Act, 1867 s.96.
Article IV s4 contemplates the eventual creation of a provincial final court of last resort, which would require amendment of s.41(d) (composition of the Supreme Court of Canada).
Article IV s6 says the Constitution of Alberta prevails over federal law in irreconcilable conflict within provincial jurisdiction. This reverses federal paramountcy.
Article IV s7 contemplates Alberta assuming full control of the criminal law, which is exclusively federal under s.91(27).

The legal basis

Section 45 lets Alberta organise its own provincial court system and its own constitutional review. It does not let Alberta appoint superior court judges, displace the Supreme Court, or rewrite the rule of federal paramountcy. The classification notes identify the procedure that would be required for each of those changes.

Open questions

Two referendum questions on the October 2026 ballot relate to this article:

Question 6 asks whether provinces should select superior court justices. That change would require amending s.96 under the general amending formula (7/50) per Constitution Act, 1982 s.38.
Question 9 asks whether provincial laws should have priority over federal laws in provincial or shared jurisdiction. Reversing paramountcy is structural and is not cleanly reachable through any single Part V procedure.

Albertans will also need to consider whether to entrench a transitional clause on criminal law that signals Alberta's interest in eventually assuming the federal criminal-law power, or to leave that question for a future constitutional negotiation.

Revision 1 2026-05-20

major

Initial draft of Article IV from the v2 draft constitution, with per-section classification, current-law context, and editorial notes.

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