Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks to the media after signing a memorandum of understanding with Ontario and Saskatchewan during the 2025 summer meetings of Canada’s Premiers at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ont., on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Court challenges to Alberta transgender laws to continue despite government plan
EDMONTON - One of the LGBTQ+ advocacy groups challenging Alberta’s government in court over its laws affecting transgender people says it won’t back down after learning the province plans to invoke the Charter’s notwithstanding clause.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks to the media after signing a memorandum of understanding with Ontario and Saskatchewan during the 2025 summer meetings of Canada’s Premiers at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ont., on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
EDMONTON - One of the LGBTQ+ advocacy groups challenging Alberta’s government in court over its laws affecting transgender people says it won’t back down after learning the province plans to invoke the Charter’s notwithstanding clause.
The clause allows governments to override certain sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for up to five years.
A leaked internal memo from Premier Danielle Smith’s government says it plans to apply the clause this fall to its school pronouns rules, its transgender sports ban, and its restrictions on gender-affirming health care.
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Two of those laws are being challenged by LGBTQ+ advocacy groups Egale and Skipping Stone and some affected families and youth.
Helen Kennedy, executive director of Egale, says the fallout from the legal change will be tragic for the youth her organization is representing.
She says they need to regroup with those families to decide how to approach the next phase of litigation, but says they will be back in court.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2025.
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