Impaired driving laws – Overview

Changes to impaired driving laws

Alberta’s impaired driving laws are changing effective December 1, 2020. A new Roadside Sanction program will keep our roads safer by providing serious and immediate consequences for all impaired drivers. Read Freeing up police and courts to make Alberta safer for more information.

Additional resources:

Fact Sheet: Provincial Administrative Penalties Act (PDF, 170 KB)
SafeRoads Alberta

Overview

Alberta, like all Canadian jurisdictions, has provincial sanctions that apply to impaired driving in addition to criminal penalties imposed by the courts under the Criminal Code of Canada.

The Government of Canada is responsible for the Criminal Code of Canada which includes transportation-related offences and penalties, including impaired driving penalties. Federal penalties for impaired driving can include licence suspension, fines, jail time and participation in an ignition interlock program.

Alberta has 4 impaired driving sanction programs, designed to immediately remove impaired drivers from the road and deter impaired driving.

Alberta’s sanctions

Alberta has 4 types of sanctions for alcohol- and drug-impaired driving offences:

Alberta Administrative Licence Suspension Program
- This applies to drivers:
  - who are over the federal legal limits for alcohol, cannabis, cannabis/alcohol combination or illegal drugs
  - are reasonably believed to be impaired by drugs or alcohol or a combination of drugs and alcohol
  - fail or refuse to provide requested breath or fluid sample(s)
- In addition to provincial sanctions, the court may also impose criminal charges and federal penalties for criminally-impaired driving.
- For more information, see the Alberta Administrative Licence Suspension Program Information Sheet.

Alberta Zero Alcohol/Drug Tolerance Program
- This applies to drivers in the Graduated Driver’s Licensing Program with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or a blood drug concentration of more than 0.00.
- For more information, see the Alberta Zero Alcohol/Drug Tolerance Program Information Sheet.

Immediate Roadside Suspension Program
- This applies to drivers with a BAC of 0.05 to 0.079.
- For more information, see the Immediate Roadside Sanction Program Information Sheet.

24-Hour Suspension Program
- This applies to drivers:
- This applies to drivers who are suspected of being impaired by alcohol, drugs or a physical or medical condition that affects their ability to safely operate a vehicle.

Remedial education courses

Drivers may be required to participate in remedial education courses as part of provincial sanctions and federal penalties for impaired driving. The Alberta Motor Association delivers remedial education courses on behalf of the Government of Alberta in accordance with Alberta’s impaired driving laws:

The Crossroads course is 3.5 hours and is designed to prevent impaired driving.
Planning Ahead is a one-day program that covers impaired driving laws, the effect of alcohol on the body and how to separate drinking and driving.
IMPACT is a live-in, weekend residential program that teaches drivers to think about how alcohol and other drugs are affecting their lives.