All-season resorts

Overview

All-season resorts offer year-round recreation experiences where accommodation, activities, services or amenities are provided to members of the public. Alberta boasts some of the most iconic destinations in the world. Albertans and visitors alike want more opportunities to experience what Alberta has to offer. Attracting capital investment into the development of these properties will enable those opportunities. 

All-Season Resorts Act

The All-Season Resorts Act was created to strengthen investor confidence and grow Alberta’s tourism sector. It does this by: 

• improving regulatory clarity
• offering tailored support to the resort development industry
• providing focused attention that enhances Alberta’s competitive advantage
• making the regulatory system more efficient

All-Season Resorts Branch

The All-Season Resorts Branch is the regulator for all-season resort developments in Alberta, responsible for the review and approval of applications, and issuing permits under Alberta’s environmental and public lands legislation through the All-Season Resorts Act.

How it works

There are 2 main steps before a new all-season resort can be built: 

• The Government of Alberta evaluates and makes a decision to designate land as an All-Season Resort Area.
• Once land has been designated as an All-Season Resort Area a detailed application can be submitted for an all-season resort development. It must be reviewed and approved by the All-Season Resorts Branch before any development can begin.

Once the application process opens in Fall 2025, developers, tourism operators, and other interested businesses may apply for all-season resort development on designated lands. However, no all-season resort is approved automatically. Every application must go through:

• environmental review
• Indigenous consultation
• public engagement, and
• a formal approval process

Benefits

All-season resorts are essential to Alberta’s visitor economy, and their development and management will help create economic opportunities for communities across the province. The development of all-season resorts will: 

• strengthen Alberta’s economy
• create opportunities for meaningful year-round employment across the province
• give Albertans more opportunities to enjoy the beauty of their own backyards
• make Alberta a competitive destination for year-round tourism
• ensure that Alberta’s great outdoors can be enjoyed while conserving our protected spaces for future generations of residents and visitors alike

Environmental standards

All-season resort developments will continue to be held to Alberta’s rigorous and world-class environmental standards. 
To guarantee this outcome, the All-Season Resorts Act:

• points directly to the pre-existing legislative standards, rather than transposing them into the Act
• creates a new classification of Public Lands, called All-Season Resort Areas, which will require individual approval for each designation
• requires that All-Season Resort Area designations align with regional and sub-regional plans legislated through the Alberta Land Stewardship Act
• does not replace existing standards for the development of Public Lands in Alberta

Engagement

All new developments proposed under the All-Season Resorts Act will continue to be subject to existing legislative engagement standards. Municipalities, environmental experts, Indigenous groups and the public all have opportunity to: 

• provide feedback by participating in public engagement/consultation which is required as part of the development process
• appeal regulatory decisions through relevant legislation, including the Public Lands Act, the Water Act or the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, depending on the type of decision made

Indigenous consultation

Alberta remains committed to meeting its legal duty to consult with First Nations, Metis Settlements, and Credibly Asserted Metis Communities. Indigenous engagement or consultation will continue to be a requirement prior to the designation and development of Public Lands for all-season resort purposes.

Indigenous communities will be consulted:

• by Alberta’s government when a site is considered for designation as an all-season resort area, and
• by the all-season resort development proponent, when they are proposing a specific development for a resort area.

Contact

Complete the form to connect with the All-Season Resorts Branch.