Province pauses EHS procurement strategy for integrated fire/ambulance service

“I’ve written the seven community leaders so that we can pursue a more deliberate and effective path forward together,” Minister LaGrange wrote in the post. “EHS Alberta will work with these communities to design a strategy that supports them and brings costs in line with provincially delivered EHS services by 2028-29. This gives communities the time and support needed to plan, adapt, and build sustainable services while ensuring emergency health services are always there when Albertans need them most.”

Today, I directed EHS Alberta to halt its current procurement strategy for integrated fire/EHS operators. We must deliver emergency health services in a consistent, fiscally responsible and patient‑focused way — and we need to get this right.

I’ve written the seven community…

— Adriana LaGrange (@AdrianaLaGrange) June 22, 2026

In May, Red Deer city council decided to pursue a renewed agreement with the province to maintain an integrated fire and ambulance service.

Council decided to use additional tax dollars to fully fund the gap to continue integrated service delivery. The additional tax dollars could be up to $2.5 to $3 million.

This came after the city was given an extension in March from Alberta’s EHS to decide on the matter.

They obliged and extended the deadline from March 31 to May 24 to renew the current contract. The city asked for an extension because they felt two weeks was too rushed. However, the deadline to respond to negotiations with the province was set for May 31.

More specifically, the city was asked to match the EHS benchmark costs with the difference in any cost to come from Red Deer taxpayers or to not deliver the ambulance service, and EHS would then go out for a request for proposal.

For background, the City of Red Deer has a contract with the province to deliver ground ambulance services in Red Deer, which includes eight ambulances.

They deliver it through an integrated model, and all of the city’s firefighters are also paramedics, who can serve on either a fire apparatus or an ambulance. There are life support capabilities on the fire engines as well as the ambulances.

The current contract to deliver the services was negotiated approximately two years ago. The term of the contract was to go until Sept. 30, 2026. Previously, the city signed contracts to deliver EMS through an integrated model in 2009, 2014, and 2024.

Red Deer Mayor Cindy Jefferies said the announcement by the minister is a welcome opportunity to discuss this in conjunction with the province.

“That initial discussion came up rather abruptly, where we were initially given two weeks to make a decision. We currently have a contract in place until September 2026, and we will look to renegotiate that at some point with the province,” she said. “This opportunity is welcome to talk about what our expectations are as Albertans, what we want in an EHS service, and how we deliver that.”

Jefferies added that she appreciates Minister LaGrange acknowledging that one size does not fit all and that there are differences from community to community.

She said it’s not entirely clear what this announcement will mean for Red Deer. She said that council anticipated they would continue the integrated fire and ambulance service for years to come.

“Mostly because we felt we hadn’t had the opportunity to have a proper discussion with our community about those services and what change may mean. I mentioned to Minister LaGrange shortly after we made our decision that this came upon us so quickly that it’s way different than if we had initiated the discussion about service changes ourselves and walked through a slower process to help people understand what the change may mean or not mean.”

Jefferies said she’s hopeful they’ll be able to continue on a similar contract to what they currently have with the province.

The following statement is from the Ministry of Hospital and Surgical Health Services, press secretary Maddison McKee:

“To support communities across Alberta in a fair and consistent way, EHS Alberta introduced a standardized, equity-based benchmark for emergency service contracts.

Six communities with integrated Fire/EHS providers were given the option to align with the benchmark or enter a competitive procurement process. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo was also advised that it would be expected to align with the provincial approach when its contract came up for renewal.

While the approach has not changed, the timeline has been extended from fall 2026 to 2028-29 to allow for a more gradual transition and to support enhanced engagement and collaboration with affected municipalities in shaping the path forward.

Once implemented, the benchmark will provide greater stability for patients, communities and service providers, helping ensure reliable emergency care across Alberta while aligning costs with services provided by EHS-Alberta.”

by Ian Gustafson

Province pauses EHS procurement strategy for integrated fire/ambulance service

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