The Alberta Health Insurance Act was an act passed by the Government of Alberta in February 1935. It was the first Canadian health insurance act to provide some public funding for medical services, and as such is considered to be an early step toward the provision of medicare in Canada

Medicare (Canada)

Medicare is the unofficial name for Canada's publicly funded universal health insurance system. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.Under the terms of the Canada Health...

.

Origins

In 1932, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta

The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta is a medical regulator in the Canadian province of Alberta. Its stated purpose is to "register physicians and issue medical practice permits, develop and administer standards of practice and conduct, and investigate and resolve physician-related...

 prepared a brief for a commission on health care reform that had been established by the Government of Alberta. The brief was presented by Albert Ernest Archer

Albert Ernest Archer

Albert Ernest Archer was a Canadian physician and political activist. He is best known for his early efforts to promote national and provincial public health care systems. Some believe that he deserves as much recognition as Tommy Douglas for medicare in Canada.-Early life and career:Archer was...

, an early supporter of public health care in Canada. The commission subsequently established a prepaid health insurance program for rural areas, and an employer/employee program for urban centres, with the province paying two-ninths of the total costs.

Passage

The United Farmers of Alberta

United Farmers of Alberta

The United Farmers of Alberta is an association of Alberta farmers that has served many different roles throughout its history as a lobby group, a political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. Since 1934 it has primarily been an agricultural supply cooperative headquartered in Calgary...

 (UFA) government passed the commission's recommendations as the Alberta Health Insurance Act in February 1935. The party subsequently lost the 1935 provincial election

Alberta general election, 1935

The Alberta general election of 1935 was the eighth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 22, 1935 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....

, however, and the new government did not follow through with the insurance plan.

Aftermath

In 1948, the Alberta government passed legislation for a medical insurance program. This led to the establishment of Medical Services (Alberta), which was superseded by Canada's national medicare program in 1969.