What's New

The guidance will help Albertans protect their information and assist various entities that collect the information on the cards. The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta is working to develop guidance due to changes that will soon come into effect for Alberta driver’s licences and identification (ID) cards. The Alberta government announced yesterday that starting on July 2, it will begin issuing driver’s licences and ID cards that will also incorporate personal health numbers and, when applicable, Canadian citizenship markers. “Our office has been in discussions with the government regarding this matter and has been aware… Read More...

The poll results align with the position held by the OIPC for decades. The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, Diane McLeod, is encouraged by the results of a recent online poll done in Alberta on behalf of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (BC FIPA). The poll was conducted by Ipsos, a global market research and polling company. News releases issued by BC FIPA and Ipsos indicate that Albertans want enforceable privacy protections for voter information collected, used, shared, or retained by political parties, candidates, campaign organizations, and their agents. The poll shows substantial support for… Read More...

The Custodian of Radius Health and Healing (the “Custodian”) requested authorization under section 87(1) of the Health Information Act (HIA) to disregard an Applicant’s access request. The Commissioner found that because of its repetitious nature, the access request was an abuse of the right to make requests and granted the Custodian authorization under section 87(1)(a) of the HIA to disregard the Request. Read More...

The Applicant made an access request to the Edmonton Police Service (the Public Body) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act). The request was for records about an incident that was reported in the media about a police officer parking a marked police vehicle in a parking spot designated for persons with disabilities. The Public Body responded to the request, informing the Applicant that it located responsive records relating to part of the request. Specifically, the Public Body stated that file PSB2015-0453 is responsive to the Applicant’s request. The Public Body withheld these records in… Read More...

Lac La Biche County (the Public Body) made a decision to extend the timelines for responding to the Applicant’s access request by 30 business days under section 16(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act (ATIA or the Act).  The Adjudicator confirmed the extension taken under section 16(1)(b). Read More...

Under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the FOIP Act), the Applicant made an access to information request to the Calgary Police Service (the Public Body). The Public Body responded to the access request withholding information under section 17(1) of the FOIP Act and on the basis that it was non-responsive. The Applicant sought a review of the Public Body’s response to the access request, including whether it conducted a proper search for records. The Adjudicator found that the Public Body complied with the FOIP Act. Read More...

FAQs are in response to numerous emails and phone calls from concerned Albertans and contain information about Albertans’ privacy rights under PIPA and the role of the Commissioner The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta has developed a Frequently Asked Questions document for Albertans concerned about the recent online publication of the List of Electors. On April 30, 2026, Elections Alberta informed the OIPC of the alleged breach of the List of Electors (LoE) by a third party. The LoE contains the personal information of millions of Albertans, including full names, addresses, postal codes, phone numbers,… Read More...

Following the incident involving the List of Electors (LoE) that was made public on April 30, 2026, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) began receiving calls from many Albertans raising concerns about their personal information being included in the LoE and what recourse they may have as a result of the alleged breach. To address these and other concerns, the OIPC has created this document to help Albertans learn about what they can do, who to direct their questions to, and more information about the role and powers of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. We ask… Read More...

The joint investigation examined whether OpenAI’s collection, use and disclosure of the personal information of individuals in Canada, in relation to its AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT, complied with federal and provincial private sector privacy laws. The investigation examined the workings of certain versions or models of ChatGPT that were in use at the time the investigation began in 2023. These models were ChatGPT 3.5 and ChatGPT 4. The investigation concluded that the initial development of ChatGPT was not compliant with provincial and federal privacy laws and identified a number of privacy issues that were present in the training and deployment of… Read More...

Investigation will be conducted under Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and will look into allegations against the Centurion Project Ltd. The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, Diane McLeod, has launched an investigation into allegations that the Centurion Project Ltd. has collected, used and disclosed personal information derived from the Alberta List of Electors, which, if true, may be in violation of the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). The Centurion Project was notified of the investigation on May 6, 2026. “Section 36(1)(a) of PIPA authorizes me to conduct an investigation on my own motion to ensure compliance with any provision… Read More...

A report was issued today summarizing a joint investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta, along with its counterparts in Quebec and British Columbia, as well as the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC). The investigation concluded that the initial development of ChatGPT was not compliant with provincial and federal privacy laws and identified a number of privacy issues that were present in the training and deployment of certain ChatGPT models. The report contains a number of recommendations and also notes that OpenAI has begun to take steps… Read More...

Commissioner expresses deep concern about potential effects on more than 2.9 million Albertans whose personal information was shared The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta is still working to obtain more information regarding the unauthorized release of personal information from the List of Electors generated by Elections Alberta. On the morning of Thursday, April 30th, the OIPC was informed by Elections Alberta of a potential breach of the List of Electors by a third party. Throughout the day, additional information was obtained from various sources, including news releases issued by the Office of the Chief Electoral… Read More...

The Applicant made an access to information request under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) to the City of Calgary (the Public Body) on November 6, 2025. By January 9, 2026, the Public Body had not responded to the request and the Applicant requested a review of the Public Body’s failure to respond. The Adjudicator found that the Public Body failed to comply with the timelines in section 13(1). As the Public Body had responded to the Applicant during the inquiry process, the Adjudicator did not order anything further. Read More...

An Applicant made a request to Alberta Executive Council (the Public Body) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act) for all records related to communications referencing both a named employee and “freedom of information.” The Public Body responded to the Applicant, stating that it located 1760 pages of responsive records. The Public Body provided some records to the Applicant, withholding information under sections 4(1)(d) and (q) (records to which this Act applies), 6(4)(b) (information rights), 17(1) (disclosure harmful to personal privacy), 24(1)(a) and (g) (advice from officials), 27(1) (privileged information) and 29(1) (information that is… Read More...

Monarch Child & Family Therapy (the “Organization”) requested authorization under section 37(b) of PIPA to disregard an Applicant’s access request. The Commissioner found the access request was vexatious and granted the Organization authorization under section 37(b) of PIPA to disregard the Request. Read More...

Requirement for privacy management programs in effect next June. The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta has developed new resources to help public bodies comply with the requirement to establish and implement a privacy management program (PMP) under Alberta’s Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) and Protection of Privacy (Ministerial) Regulation. The new resources outline the privacy management program requirements for public bodies under POPA and its regulation and build on earlier best-practice guidance from privacy commissioners in Alberta, British Columbia, and Canada. “By following the approach described in these resources, public bodies will be better prepared… Read More...

Introduction In a world that increasingly depends on technology and personal information, organizational accountability is essential for maintaining public trust. This guidance explains what it means for a public body to be accountable today and how to establish a Privacy Management Program (PMP) to support that responsibility. It outlines the requirements for public bodies under Alberta’s Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) and Protection of Privacy (Ministerial) Regulation (M-Reg) and builds on earlier best-practice guidance from privacy commissioners in Alberta, British Columbia, and Canada in Getting Accountability Right with a Privacy Management Program. By following the approach described in… Read More...

Introduction Purpose of this guidance Public bodies[1] in Alberta are required to comply with the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) and its associated regulations the Protection of Privacy (Ministerial) Regulation (M-Regulation) and the Protection of Privacy Regulation (Regulation). POPA governs the collection, use, disclosure and management of personal information[2] in the custody or control of public bodies. They are also required to provide access to individuals who request access to their own personal information… Read More...

An individual (the Applicant) made an access request to the Workers’ Compensation Board (the Public Body) under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) for certain information. The Public Body provided the Applicant with a fee estimate of $4198.50. The Applicant requested a full fee waiver based on fairness and public interest grounds under sections 96(5)(a) and (b) of ATIA. The Public Body denied the fee waiver request. The Applicant asked the Commissioner to review the Public Body’s calculation of fees and its refusal to waive the fees. Following the review, the Applicant requested an inquiry. The Adjudicator found that the… Read More...

An individual (the Applicant) made an access request to the Workers’ Compensation Board (the Public Body) under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) for certain information. The Public Body provided the Applicant with a fee estimate of $162, which was for the time estimated to search for responsive records. The Applicant requested a full fee waiver based on fairness and public interest grounds under sections 96(5)(a) and (b) of ATIA. The Public Body denied the fee waiver request. The Applicant asked the Commissioner to review the Public Body’s calculation of fees and its refusal of the fee waiver request. Following… Read More...