Lab services on the move again, this time to Primary Care Alberta

Alberta’s lab services are facing yet another move as the provincial government forges ahead with its health system restructuring process.

Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL), which provides all community- and hospital-based lab services in the province, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alberta Health Services.

But ownership will shift to Primary Care Alberta on April 1, 2026.

The change is part of the province’s effort to restructure the health system and dismantle Alberta Health Services (AHS) as a single health authority. Four health-related ministries now oversee multiple health delivery agencies: Primary Care Alberta, Acute Care Alberta, Recovery Alberta and Assisted Living Alberta.

In a statement, the Alberta government said the ownership transition will “strengthen laboratory services across the province without adding cost or complexity for Albertans.”

Primary Care Alberta will provide governance and oversight under the Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services, it confirmed.

“Patients will continue to receive the same high‑quality lab services they rely on today, while the change positions APL to help better support community‑based care in the future,” said Maddison McKee, press secretary to minister Adriana LaGrange.

The move comes after years of upheaval and just months after Alberta’s auditor general issued a report outlining the provincial government’s failed and costly efforts to privatize community lab services. The government eventually purchased Dynalife and moved lab services back into the public system, under APL.

Few details, doctor says

With the latest ownership transition to Primary Care Alberta, APL will continue operating as an independent organization and no job losses are expected, the province said.

Still, Dr. Etienne Mahe, section president of lab physicians with the Alberta Medical Association, said he and his colleagues don’t have much clear information about the path forward.

“There’s been a significant lack of communication,” he said.

He was worried the province may consider privatizing lab services once again.

“It just didn’t work for Alberta, and I was quite concerned,” said Mahe.

“So at least for the moment we are reassured by that.”

But he was surprised the government decided to place APL under the umbrella of Primary Care Alberta.

“I worry that APL is going to be stretched a bit thin if its entire focus is going to be on supporting initiatives in Primary Care Alberta only,” said Mahe, who is also an associate professor of pathology and medicine at the University of Calgary.

APL’s work stretches across the health system, ranging from hospital and cancer centre testing to community lab testing and infectious disease surveillance. For example, Mahe pointed to ongoing wastewater monitoring for COVID-19.

“I worry some of that is going to get lost in the shuffle.”

In its statement, the Alberta government said APL will continue supporting all parts of the health system, including Acute Care Alberta, Cancer Care Alberta, Assisted Living Alberta, Recovery Alberta and Give Life Alberta. It will also continue to work with Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health and the Lamont Health Care Centre. 

“Laboratory services will continue uninterrupted within hospitals, with no changes to service levels, quality standards or operational commitments and this creates the opportunity for greater integration with public health programs,” said McKee.

Mahe hopes all that comes to pass, but without more information, he said, it’s unclear how that will work.

“I don’t know how that’s going to happen because we are separated off in these perhaps somewhat arbitrary ministries and agencies,” he said.

Years of ‘extreme disruptions’

According to the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), more than 6,800 of its members, including lab technologists and assistants, are impacted by the move.

“We’re watching this restructuring very closely,” said Mike Parker, the union’s president.

“It’s difficult because over the last five years we’ve seen some extreme disruptions and a very stressful time for our membership, changing employers multiple times. Services were sold to a private company, dissolved and then transitioned back.”

HSAA staff will retain their collective agreements and union affiliation, he said.

“Let’s hope that now we’re done transitioning for the final time, and we can build on a stable lab service, and we can grow the system to ensure that all Albertans get what they need on the frontlines of health care.”