Alberta already runs its own court system. The Court of King's Bench, the Court of Appeal and the Provincial Court sit under Alberta law with Alberta administration, and none of that changes. What changes is who pays for the parts Canada pays for today, and who exercises the jurisdiction Canada exercises today.
Three things move. Canada appoints and pays the superior court judges in Alberta under section 96 of the Constitution Act, and Alberta assumes that payroll. Canada prosecutes federal-statute offences through its own prosecution service, and that work transfers to an Alberta prosecutor. Canada's Federal Court exercises jurisdiction over matters that will become domestic Alberta questions, and that jurisdiction has to be received by an Alberta court with the registry and case management to handle it. Alberta also picks up the federal contribution to legal aid, which simply stops.
What the domain does not do is build new courts, new courthouses or a new judiciary. The judges already sit, the buildings already stand and the cases already run. The transition is a change of payer and a transfer of jurisdiction, executed by statute, with the systems extended rather than replaced.
C$ millions, fiscal 2026-27 price base. A one-time cost, a recurring cost and a payment to a member of the public are different things and are never added together.
How the figure is built
C$122.6M a year of added running cost and C$174.8M one-time, of which C$34.0M is capital. Alberta administers its own courts today and funds Court and Justice Services at C$288.0M. The courts do not close, the judges do not change and cases in progress do not restart. What independence adds is the remuneration of 106 section 96 judges that Canada pays today, the jurisdiction the Federal Courts exercise, prosecution of federal-statute offences, and the machinery that replaces federal judicial appointment.
The lines
| C$M | ||
|---|---|---|
| Section 96 judicial remuneration | 58.6 | 106 section 96 offices - 83 King's Bench under the Court of King's Bench Act, 14 Court of Appeal, and supernumeraries - at a C$552,500 loaded planning rate, not a gazetted salary. The posts are not new; the payer is |
| Legal aid - the federal contribution that ends | 16.0 | Alberta funds legal aid today at C$105M in Budget 2026; Canada contributes a share which ceases. The C$16.0M Alberta share is an estimate: Canada publishes its criminal legal aid contribution nationally and not by province, so the Alberta share is apportioned rather than read from a published provincial line. This federal money ends, but it is carried here as added running cost because Alberta must fund the service, so it is not counted again in the C$9,589.2M of federal transfers ceasing |
| Payroll for the 218 new permanent posts | 48.0 | Built line by line under The people below: 110 prosecution, 45 administrative justice, 40 registry, 15 governance, 5 Federal Court, 3 tax appeal |
| ADDED RUNNING COST, a year | 122.6 | |
| Court case management extension | 16.0 | Extends the existing system to the absorbed federal-court jurisdiction |
| Registry and proceedings transfer systems | 10.0 | |
| Legal information and judgment publication | 8.0 | Alberta must publish its own law and judgments from Day 1 |
| Capital | 34.0 | |
| Legal drafting and continuation statute | 34.0 | Deeming provisions validating every commission, oath, delegation, badge and seal |
| Case and appeal transfer | 30.0 | Proceedings carry-forward preserving limitation periods and appeal rights |
| Prosecution service transition | 16.0 | Continuation of existing files and authorities |
| Judicial appointment and governance establishment | 12.0 | The machinery that replaces federal appointment |
| Programme management and assurance | 16.0 | 24-month stand-up |
| Contingency at 15% | 22.8 | |
| ONE-TIME TOTAL | 174.8 |
The people
| Posts | C$M | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Prosecution of federal-statute offences | 110 | 18 | Alberta already prosecutes Criminal Code matters |
| Administrative justice | 45 | 8 | Federal tribunal jurisdiction transferring to Alberta |
| Federal Court jurisdiction absorbed | 5 | 8 | Judicial review, intellectual property, maritime |
| Registry for transferred jurisdiction | 40 | 6 | Filing, scheduling and records |
| Judicial appointment and governance | 15 | 4 | Judicial council, appointments and compensation commissions |
| Tax appeal jurisdiction | 3 | 4 | Volume is low because withholding is treated as final, not because instruments are zeroed |
| Permanent posts | 218 | ||
| Recruitment and training | 10 | 218 new permanent posts | |
| Complement carried | 218 new permanent posts, plus 106 sitting judges whose remuneration moves to Alberta |
Comparators
| Figure | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alberta Justice, 2026-27 | C$773.0M, of which Court and Justice Services is C$288.0M | Alberta administers and funds its own courts today |
| Court of King's Bench Act | A Chief Justice, 2 Associate Chief Justices and 80 other justices | Plus supernumeraries and the Court of Appeal: 106 section 96 judges in Alberta |
| Judges Act remuneration | C$425,000, or C$552,500 loaded | Section 96 judges are appointed and paid by Canada; provinces administer the courts |
| A new apex court | C$0 | The paper designates the existing superior court rather than constituting a new institution |
What these figures assume
- Existing judges and judicial officers continue in office with tenure and remuneration preserved. A case in progress does not restart and a filed limitation period does not reset.
- The existing superior court is designated as the Alberta Supreme Court and absorbs the subject matter of the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal. This is a renaming and a conferral of jurisdiction, not the creation of a new institution, so no apex court is built.
- Alberta continues to administer and fund its courts as it does today. Independence moves the remuneration of section 96 judges from Canada to Alberta; it does not add judges or courts.
- Matters already heard by the Supreme Court of Canada or the Federal Courts remain with those courts to render judgment. Transfer applies to proceedings not yet heard, and is a negotiated item in the judicial-cooperation protocol.
- Alberta already prosecutes Criminal Code offences. The increment is the drug, revenue and regulatory work the Public Prosecution Service of Canada carries.
How this connects to other domains
The Alberta Protection Claims Tribunal at Immigration shares a registry with the administrative tribunals costed here. Corrections and the enforcement of judgments sit at Policing and Public Safety. Tax appeal volume is low but not nil: the no-rebates rule governs rebates and the consumption tax and does not zero Alberta's own standing levies, which continue and generate appeals, and withholding treated as final means most Albertans never file a return that can be appealed.
Sources
- Alberta Transition Plan supporting analysis, Courts and Legal System - court hierarchy, judicial continuity, case and appeal transfer.
- Alberta Budget 2026 - Justice ministry and Court and Justice Services.
- Court of King's Bench Act, RSA 2000 c C-31 - constitution of the court.
