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By The Canadian Press

Healthcare

Alberta Opposition NDP calls on Smith to reconvene legislature over hospital crisis

Jan 20, 2026 | 11:56 AM

Alberta Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi is calling on Premier Danielle Smith’s government to reconvene the legislature five weeks early, saying her government needs to take accountability during a crisis of hospital overcrowding.

Nenshi says major hospitals operating at 102 per cent capacity is “not normal” and says the province needs to declare a state of emergency until capacity becomes manageable.

Calls for urgent health-care system measures have intensified since the death last month of a man who waited nearly eight hours in an Edmonton emergency department.

Nenshi says the province needs to restore a centralized command structure he says was broken during a massive health-care system restructuring.

Hospitals Minister Matt Jones has said the province doesn’t need to declare an emergency because it has the necessary tools, and its agencies are working to address hospital pressures.

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Jones is set to take questions from reporters at an announcement in Calgary this afternoon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2025.