Provincial Priorities Act could hurt Alberta's priorities, says academic
An Edmonton political scientist who researches the idea of the 'typical' Albertan said this research, as well as the complexities of academic funding, point to a potential for the United Conservative Party government's Provincial Priorities Act to hurt not only researchers but the provincial economy.
The bill became law in May after being introduced as Bill 18. Jared Wesley, who co-leads the Common Ground project at the University of Alberta, said it appears aimed to place the provincial government between funding agencies with the federal government and academics to apply more Alberta-centric limits to what types of research can and can't happen at universities in the province.
"They want to target the social sciences and humanities researchers, who tend to be more critical of the state," Wesley told Taproot. "But the thing is, these measures are going to go across the board."
Wesley said several nuances to how academic funding works in Canada as compared to the United States and how the province's overall demographic shift means many in Alberta, including those in rural areas, have meaningful connections to post-secondary institutions in 2024. Taking this difference into account, Wesley said the UCP may not fully understand what its law will do.
"It wouldn't be the first time that this government has been shortsighted when it comes to policy implications," he said.
In April, Premier Danielle Smith introduced the reasoning behind the UCP government's Bill 18 to reporters. She suggested it was a way for Alberta to require provincially connected organizations, including universities, school boards, and municipalities, to require provincial approval before they sign a funding agreement with the federal government. "Albertans are uninterested in the virtue signalling from Ottawa and the related strings that come with it," Smith said. "We're interested in our fair share of federal funding to move forward with our priorities — on roads, infrastructure and on housing."
Reaction to the bill was widespread. Students and professors staged protests in Calgary, critics noted the bill in practice could create bureaucratic paralysis, Alberta Municipalities offered its members a cautionary position, and the UCP-appointed president of the U of A, Bill Flanagan, wrote an article openly critical of the bill. Flanagan's post notes there are nearly 1,800 individual funding agreements with the federal government at the U of A alone in 2023.
Wesley said that as the act takes hold (likely in 2025), post-secondary researchers across all disciplines stand to be affected, especially at the U of A. "They're going to affect medical research, research into artificial intelligence, research into not just clean energy, but petroleum engineering, and so on," he said. "It honestly means fewer jobs because, eventually, if the U of A is not pulling in these research dollars then (the university doesn't) need the research administrators, and it has a downward effect (on jobs)."
In an emailed statement, Varun Chandrasekar, press secretary for Minister of Advanced Education Rajan Sawhney, told Taproot the government continues working on how the act will be implemented. "Alberta's government is committed to ensuring federal funding aligns with provincial priorities and investments to maximize outcomes for all Albertans," Chandrasekar said. "Advanced Education has been actively engaging post-secondary institutions, in a series of open and informative discussions since spring 2024 to ensure regulations are developed in a way that streamlines approval processes and avoids adding administrative burden to post-secondaries."
