Alberta NDP calls on Premier Smith to acknowledge, address ER capacity ‘crisis’

EDMONTON — Alberta’s Opposition NDP is calling on Premier Danielle Smith’s government to face a “crisis” of overcrowded hospitals head-on as doctors plead for emergency measures to help cope.

NDP hospital services critic Sarah Hoffman told reporters Monday instead of directing resources toward fixing long emergency department wait times, “it feels like the UCP is still on vacation mode.”

She said Smith and her four health ministers have been silent for too long, and they need to take action, including to strengthen staffing.

“The buck stops with them, and they should be showing some leadership, answering questions and putting resources into the front lines,” said Hoffman.

“They keep putting out statements, but haven’t made themselves available. They need to show accountability.”

In response to questions from The Canadian Press, the ministry for hospital services forwarded a statement late Monday from Acute Care Alberta, which did not directly acknowledge Hoffman’s comments.

Acute Care Alberta is one of a group of new provincial governing agencies created by Smith’s government to replace Alberta Health Services, which was dismantled as the provincial health authority and relegated to being a hospital services provider.

The hospitals ministry said reporters will be able to put questions to the ministry, Acute Care Alberta, Alberta Health Services and Covenant Health at an update scheduled for Thursday.

It did not answer questions seeking clarity about who has the authority to move on the specific provincewide measures doctors are calling for.

Hoffman’s calls echo those of emergency physicians in hospitals who continue to sound the alarm over capacity and accountability.

On Monday, the head of the Alberta Medical Association, which represents the province’s doctors, doubled down on his members’ calls and said the hospital system has been operating at over 110 per cent capacity for more than a year.

Dr. Brian Wirzba, the group’s president and an Edmonton-based internal medicine specialist, said Saturday patient care is at risk and that speaking out is a last resort for doctors who have tried in vain to raise their concerns internally.

“If conditions are dire enough that doctors are speaking bluntly to the media, we all need to listen,” Wirzba said in a statement.

“The current situation has exceeded normal operating parameters for acute care.”

Wirzba’s statement cited long-term data showing increasing wait times and a rising number of patients leaving emergency departments without being seen.

Acute Care Alberta has rescheduled seven non-emergency surgeries in Edmonton since the new year, and it has temporarily stopped accepting internal medicine patients from other zones for months.

But the Alberta Medical Association said the government needs to bring back clear provincial health agency accountability for co-ordinating patients among different hospital providers.

“Ultimately, government is responsible for the health of Albertans – and right now, that means re-establishing the structures, roles, authority and accountability in the refocused health system,” it said.

“The first step to solve a problem is acknowledging there is one.”

The Monday statement from Acute Care Alberta CEO David Diamond mirrors much of what the ministry has previously said to media in response to doctors’ concerns.

The system is under pressure, it’s all hands on deck, and every authority and hospital provider is “working together,” said Diamond.

“(Acute Care Alberta) is working with service providers like AHS, Covenant Health to support site-level decisions such has accelerating discharges and transfers where appropriate, limiting non-essential inbound transfers, dedicating 336 beds specifically for respiratory virus season, and opening designated surge spaces to manage increased demand,” he said.

Diamond said respiratory virus hospital admissions peaked Dec. 28.

He also touted the work of other health agencies overseen by the government, such as Assisted Living Alberta to divert patients who would better be cared for outside of hospitals, and Recovery Alberta, which is responsible for mental health and addiction treatment.

Diamond said Recovery Alberta has made six beds available for additional surge capacity, and is planning to open up six more.

According to the latest numbers from the provincial dashboard, there were 653 influenza patients admitted to hospital as of Jan. 3.

While the government has pointed to the effects of the flu season on hospitals, doctors have said it’s only the most recent wave to hit an already drowning, chronically underfunded system.

Last week, the government’s primary and preventative health ministry said calls for emergency measures were “misguided” and unnecessary.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2026.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press