Sarah Hoffman, Alberta NDP hospital services critic, is urging the United Conservative Party to acknowledge what she calls the ER capacity crisis. (Image Credit: Alberta NDP)

By Canadian Press

Politics

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

Jan 12, 2026 | 4:55 PM

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 says instead of directing resources towards fixing long emergency department wait times, “it feels like the UCP is still on vacation mode.”

She says Smith and her ministers have been silent for too long, and they need to show leadership with added resources, including to strengthen staffing.

It comes after the association representing doctors across the province said patient care is at risk and that speaking out publicly is the last resort for physicians who have tried in vain to raise their concerns internally.

The Alberta Medical Association says the government needs to bring back provincial accountability for coordinating patients among different hospitals around the province.

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The government has said recent calls for a public health state of emergency are misguided and would add nothing to what is already being done, as the system is using all available resources.

The ministry in charge of hospitals has also said long emergency wait times are a serious concern, but it is cautiously optimistic that demand will ease as the respiratory virus season abates.

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

(The Canadian Press)