Alberta judges emphasize judicial independence amid constitutional controversies – JURIST

Three Alberta judges said the separation of powers is crucial for a healthy democracy in a rare statement issued on Tuesday.

The judges said that their role is to interpret and apply the law, including the Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, when disputes come before the courts. They stated that judicial independence–exercising authority free from interference by the governments that appoint judges–is essential to protecting individual rights and ruling on cases impartially. The statement added, “A properly functioning democracy requires three separate branches of government that exercise their power and authority independently according to the Constitution.”

The chief justices of Alberta courts at all three levels jointly signed the statement.

The statement comes three days after Premier Danielle Smith said during the January 24 episode of her weekly radio show that she wished she could direct judges to rule on bail conditions based on the seriousness of the alleged crime, instead of the current federal bail guidelines that take into account the accused’s background. She also stated her intention to develop a joint process between the federal and provincial governments to select judges. She contended that the process can reflect Albertan values.

However, Olav Rokne, spokesperson of the Provincial Court of Alberta, told the Canadian Press that the statement was intended to address public misunderstanding of the judicial roles and was not a response to the premier’s speech. 

This is not the first time the Alberta government and the court have clashed. Last month, the court ruled that the proposed separation referendum would be unconstitutional as it did not guarantee the constitutional and aboriginal rights in an independent Alberta. One day before the ruling, the government introduced legislation to discontinue the proceedings. Premier Smith, in her December 6 radio episode, said the referendum system should be permissive and that courts should not have the authority to block a citizen-initiated referendum.

Between October and December 2025, the government also invoked the notwithstanding clause four times to shield legislation from court scrutiny. The first invocation related to the Back to School Act, which unilaterally ended the province-wide teachers’ strike and imposed a blanket prohibition on teachers’ strikes and lockouts. The other three invocations concerned transgender-related issues, including the prohibitions on gender-affirming treatment for minors, requirements for parental consent for students to change their names and pronouns, and limits on transgender athletes’ participation in women’s and girls’ sports competitions. Premier Smith, again in her December 6 episode, said the invocations protected the democratic will, arguing the courts might otherwise override government decisions, which would be held accountable by the electorate.

On January 20, a group of Camrose lawyers also published an open letter expressing their concern that recent government actions were eroding the democratic institutions. In addition to the above-mentioned incidents, they also criticized the government for granting the justice minister immunity from oversight by the Law Society of Alberta.