Alberta has record-number of primary care providers, government says, as website launches to connect them with patients
Posted Feb 19, 2026 8:59 am.
Last Updated Feb 19, 2026 9:00 am.
Alberta’s government says the province is home to more primary care providers than ever before, and has launched a redesigned website to connect residents with doctors, nurse practitioners, and registered midwives.
As of Dec. 31, 2025, there were 6,362 family doctors and 1,137 nurse practitioners with active licenses in Alberta. According to the province, these numbers are both all-time highs.
More than 800 of those healthcare providers are accepting patients, the government adds. Of those, 400 are in Calgary and more than 200 are in Edmonton.
Alberta’s government says around 84 per cent of adults in the province report having a regular health care provider, one of the highest rates in canada.
This comes as a redesigned ‘Alberta Find a Provider’ website was launched Thursday. It replaces a previous version of the website and includes expanded search options.
The resource acts as a search engine for Albertans to find a primary care provider in their area.
It also adds primary care indicators to the provincial health system dashboard, which the province says provides transparent reporting on measures such as patient attachment to a primary care provider, cervical cancer screening rates and post-discharge follow-up.
Government officials are touting the record-breaking numbers as measures of success for the new family physician funding model and the Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Program, which it says are designed to strengthen community-based care and attract more providers into comprehensive primary care.
The province has faced criticism, however, for its Bill 11, which would allow physicians to practice in both the public and private health care sectors. Advocacy groups have said its implementation would mean the end of Canada’s healthcare system as we know it.
Alberta’s government says it would modernize rules for physicians while offering them flexibility. It has also been advertised as a partial solution to cutting surgery wait times.
