Alberta Medical Association: Launches Resource Initiative Amid Crisis

CALGARY, AB — The Alberta Medical Association is launching a new resource stewardship initiative today, bringing physicians and system leaders together to squeeze more value out of a healthcare system that's been hemorrhaging money and staff for the past year.

The program arrives nine months after Premier Danielle Smith blew up Alberta Health Services into specialized agencies, and nearly a year after the AMA called out a $600 million hole in the physician compensation budget. Translation: Doctors are being asked to do more with less, and the AMA is positioning itself as the architect of efficiency rather than the victim of cuts.

The Players

AMA President Dr. Brian Wirzba is steering the initiative alongside President-Elect Dr. Heidi Fell. They're working with Smith's newly minted health ministers—Adriana LaGrange on the primary care side and Matt Jones handling hospitals and surgeries. Both ministers were appointed last May when the government split the old Ministry of Health into separate fiefdoms.

The AMA frames this as "physician leadership and stewardship in a high-performing health system." But the context matters: This comes after the association's previous president, Dr. Shelley Duggan, publicly dinged the 2025 budget for shortchanging doctors by hundreds of millions. And in September, the Health Sciences Association rejected a tentative agreement, citing brutal workforce shortages and wage offers that couldn't keep staff from walking.

The Money

Alberta's 2025 budget pumped $28 billion into operating expenses for the restructured health system—a $1.4 billion bump from the year before. Inside that number: $22.1 billion earmarked for access improvements, hospital capacity, surgeries, and compensation. The AMA still says that leaves a $600 million gap for what physicians actually need to handle rising patient demand.

Meanwhile, doctors get a $2,200 continuing medical education stipend this fiscal year, a small carrot in a system where the sticks are multiplying.

The Friction

The initiative lands in a system that's been in crisis mode for months. Smith's May restructuring decentralized control, theoretically improving responsiveness but also fracturing accountability. Union members rejected deals. Compensation fights dragged on. And now the AMA is pitching collaboration on resource optimization—code for "figure out how to stretch every dollar without breaking the system."

The real tension: Is this genuine partnership, or is it doctors being handed the spreadsheet for a budget they didn't write? The AMA's move puts physicians at the table, but it also puts them on the hook for making an underfunded system work.

Details on specific programs, timelines, and which of Smith's new agencies are actively participating remain vague. The AMA has not yet outlined concrete tools or benchmarks for measuring "value across the system."