New Alberta ID cards begin rolling out, privacy commissioner offers guidance
New Alberta ID cards begin rolling out, privacy commissioner offers guidance
Publish Date: 2026-07-02 15:30:00
Source Domain: stettlerindependent.com
New Alberta ID cards begin rolling out, privacy commissioner offers guidance
Published 12:10 pm Thursday, July 2, 2026
The province’s information and privacy commissioner is encouraging Albertans to review three separate guidance documents as changes come into effect.
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta has developed guidance to enhance protection of Albertans’ personal information and to assist entities that will collect the information on new driver’s licences and identification cards starting Thursday, July 2.
The Alberta government announced in early June that on July 2, 2026, it will begin issuing driver’s licences and ID cards that will also incorporate personal health numbers (PHNs) and Canadian citizenship markers, when applicable.
“These changes will create new risks for the added personal information on these documents,” said Diane McLeod, information and privacy commissioner.
“Because of this, my office has developed three separate guidance documents to help mitigate these risks. One guidance document is tailored for the public and provides background information and advice to help them protect the information that will now be displayed on their new driver’s licences and ID cards.
“The other two guidance documents were developed with private sector organizations and public bodies in mind. They will inform these two types of entities about the rules in Alberta’s privacy laws regarding the collection of the additional information now included on driver’s licences and ID cards.”
The new guidance documents can be found on the OIPC website at www.oipc.ab.ca.
The changes to driver’s…
