Non-Permanent Residents’ Access to Provincially Funded Programs

Alberta’s upcoming referendum will include three questions which propose to impose limits on non-permanent residents’ access to provincially funded programs, including health care, education, and other social services. The proposed limits include a 12-month waiting period, fees or premiums, as well as outright ineligibility for accessing services. It remains uncertain which limits will apply to the various types of provincially funded services.

The Muttart Foundation has conducted a jurisdictional scan of non-permanent residents’ access to provincially funded services in Alberta other provinces across Canada, aiming to answer two main questions:

1. What provincially funded services can non-permanent residents in Alberta currently access?
2. How does this compare with access to services in other Canadian provinces?

Findings

Alberta’s current policies are, in the main, similar to those in other provinces. The limits proposed in the referendum questions would result in Alberta becoming an outlier in terms of its treatment of non-permanent residents. While it is not clear from the referendum questions specifically which restrictions are being considered for which programs and services, the types of changes proposed would make Alberta one of the most restrictive provinces for non-permanent residents in Canada.

Public Education

• No Canadian province currently denies access to public education for the children of legal non-permanent residents, nor are fees being charged to these children.
• Currently, Alberta provides public education to the children of those “lawfully” entitled to be in Canada, including non-permanent residents. This is also the case in most other provinces.
• Four provinces (British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec) permit all children, regardless of legal immigration status, to access public education. 

Health Care

• In general, non-permanent residents’ access to health care in Alberta is comparable with other provinces. In almost all provinces, including Alberta, non-permanent residents holding work and study permits can access provincial health benefits, provided they meet residency requirements. Residency requirements generally require someone to make their home in a given province, and to hold a work or study permit that is valid for 6 to 12 months.
• Asylum claimants in most provinces are ineligible for provincial health benefits, but are covered through the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP).
• No province excludes work permit holders from accessing health care. Just two provinces, Manitoba and Ontario, exclude international students from provincial health coverage. 
• Waiting periods are common, but no province has a waiting period longer than three months. The 12-month waiting period proposed by the provincial government would be the longest in the country and would mean that many non-permanent residents would never be able to access health coverage during their time living in Alberta. 
• Non-permanent residents who are eligible for health care generally have the same level of access as all other residents. Eligible individuals are not charged additional fees or premiums to access provincially funded health care services.
• The IFHP, funded by the federal government has recently introduced fees for specific health care services. As of May 1, 2026, asylum claimants covered by the IFHP are required to pay 30 percent of the cost of supplemental health products and services, and $4 for each eligible prescription medication.

Work and Study Permit Holders’ Eligibility for Provincially-Funded Health Services by Province

Social Services

• The provincial government has not defined what it means by social services. Social services could include a wide range of provincially funded programs such as income supports; disability and employment supports; housing supports; regulated child care; crisis supports; and legal supports.  
• Currently, in Alberta and across Canada, non-permanent residents holding work and study permits generally do not have access to the majority of provincially-funded social services. 
• Asylum claimants tend to have access to a greater number of services than non-permanent residents who hold work and/or study permits. Asylum claimants may therefore be at risk of losing access to these programs and services.

Access to Social Services in Alberta by Type of Non-Permanent Resident