EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA — Alberta’s governing United Conservatives stayed up until the early hours of this morning to pass a bill making it the fourth time they have used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause.

Members of Premier Danielle Smith’s caucus used their majority to pass on third and final reading a bill affecting transgender citizens.

The UCP members pounded their desks and shouted “Hear, hear!” after the vote, while the members of the Opposition NDP — who voted against the bill — shook their heads.

The bill confirms the government’s intention to use the notwithstanding clause to shield from legal challenge each of three current laws affecting transgender people.

The laws police names and pronouns in school, ban transgender girls from participating in amateur female sports, and restrict gender-affirming health care for youth under 16.

In late October, Smith’s government invoked the Charter’s override clause to order striking school teachers back to work and impose on them a collective bargaining deal they had already rejected.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2025.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press