Alberta announces tentative compensation deal with resident doctors

Alberta has reached a new deal for resident physicians, meaning their paycheques will be on par with residents in other provinces.

Health Minister Adriana LaGrange announced the tentative four-year agreement on Wednesday that will see wage increases of three per cent in each of the first two years, and two per cent in each of the last two years.

“This is a great day for resident physicians and for Alberta’s healthcare system,” said LaGrange. “It is a balanced and responsible agreement that will ensure sure Alberta remains competitive with other jurisdictions.”

Resident physicians are doctors who have graduated from medical school and are getting post-graduate training in a residency program before getting their license.

The president of the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) says the agreement is great news, but adds that pay isn’t the only issue residents are facing right now.

Shelley Duggan says the province has more to do to prevent doctors from leaving Alberta once they complete their residencies.

“They want to see that the positions they are working with have sustainable practices,” she says. “Unfortunately, a lot of our physicians in practice are contemplating leaving the province.”

The new tentative agreement is retroactive to July 1, 2024 and will last until the end of June 2028. The deal is still awaiting formal approval from the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary.

Reformed healthcare system causing confusion, AMA says

Duggan also says the rollout of a reformed healthcare system is causing a whole other challenge. The province tabled a bill back in May to split up Alberta Health Services (AHS) into four different agencies.

“It’s very confusing,” she says. “It’s really not clear to us how these four pillars are going to work together. It seems like we are creating four layers of new bureaucracy now.”

Duggan says when the AMA gets the opportunity to talk to the province about the rollout, the discussion are one-sided. She accuses the government of making decisions before having an open dialogue with the organization.

Family doctors are also waiting on a delayed pay deal they say is needed to keep their clinics afloat.

“We really have no timeframe as to when that’s going to be, and it’s quite disappointment, because many physicians could potentially hold on a couple more months if they knew that deal was coming,” she says.

The new tentative deal for residents comes as negotiations with the United Nurses of Alberta have reached an apparent impasse that could lead to a strike vote.

With files from The Canadian Press