Ribbet32, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
FORT McMURRAY — Alberta’s government has unveiled a 10-year strategy aimed at improving cancer care across the province, but the Opposition says the plan does not address immediate challenges facing patients waiting for treatment.
The province released Alberta’s Strategic Plan for Cancer to 2036 on Monday, describing it as a roadmap to improve cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, recovery and supportive care.
The strategy was developed through consultations with patients, families, health-care providers, researchers and community organizations.
Hospital and Surgical Health Services Minister Adriana LaGrange, herself a cancer survivor, said the plan is intended to position Alberta as a national leader in cancer care.
“This 10-year plan is our roadmap to ensuring that Alberta isn’t just keeping up but leading the country when it comes to cancer care,” LaGrange said in a statement.
The strategy identifies five key priorities: preventing more cancers and accelerating diagnosis and treatment, improving continuity of care, advancing research and innovation, strengthening the cancer-care system and expanding Alberta’s cancer workforce.
According to the province, approximately one in two Albertans is expected to develop cancer during their lifetime.
The government says more than 40 actions and commitments will be implemented over the next decade, including expanded screening programs, improved referral pathways, greater access to clinical trials and advanced therapies, modernized data systems and continued workforce recruitment.
Cancer Care Alberta managing director Brenda Hubley said the strategy builds on Alberta’s strengths in clinical care, research and health data.
The province also highlighted recent investments in cancer services, including $1.2 billion over three years in Budget 2026. That funding includes $223 million in new operating funding for additional oncologists, expanded surgical capacity, more treatment spaces and supportive care services.
Alberta says it now has a record 205 oncologists working across the province, with another 23 expected to begin work during the 2026-27 fiscal year.
The announcement drew criticism from the Opposition NDP, which argued the strategy focuses on long-term goals while failing to address current concerns about wait times and access to care.
Sarah Hoffman, the NDP’s shadow minister for hospitals and surgical services, said fewer cancer patients are receiving surgery on time compared with previous years.
“The UCP government’s announcement does not address the problems cancer patients are experiencing right now,” Hoffman said in a statement.
She also criticized the government for what the NDP describes as reductions to cancer prevention, screening and detection programs in Budget 2026, and raised concerns about the planned end of a provincial lung cancer screening pilot later this year.
Hoffman said New Democrats support investments in cancer screening, prevention, detection and surgery but questioned whether the government can successfully deliver on its promises.
The province says implementation of the cancer strategy will be led by Cancer Care Alberta and Acute Care Alberta in partnership with health agencies, researchers and community organizations over the next decade.
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