Alberta upgrading ID credentials with digital wallet, mobile health card launch

The Canadian prairie province of Alberta is embracing digital identity with the launch of a new plastic card, along with a digital wallet and a mobile health credential to go in it.

The optional Alberta Wallet will give residents control over how their personal information is stored and shared, according to the announcement.

The new Mobile Health Card will provide proof of public health insurance coverage as a more secure and durable replacement for the provinces legacy paper health cards. Alberta is the only province left issuing paper health cards, after Manitoba began issuing plastic cards in January, the CBC reports.

The new plastic card is planned for introduction next year, and combines the provinces health-care and driver’s license credentials.

In the future, the government plans to add support for digital birth and marriage certificates, educational credentials and other documents to its digital wallet.

There are already 1.8 million people out of 4.3 million (according to the 2021 census) in the province who have an Alberta.ca Account for public services, and the digital wallet is intended to build on that initiative. The Alberta Wallet is being issued through the government-services portal, which uses ATB Ventures’ Oliu platform for identity verification.

Alberta.ca Accounts were previously known as MyAlberta Digital ID.

“If you choose to use the new Alberta Wallet, you remain in control of your personal information, which will stay private and only accessible to you,” says Premier Danielle Smith.

Largest province tight-lipped

The country’s most populous province, Ontario, quietly shelved its digital identity program sometime between when its original 2021 launch target was announced and last year, but at least one business appears to be optimistic about its prospects.

A puzzling post from Royal York Property Management claims that “the government continues to move forward with development” on a provincial digital ID.

Little movement has been seen since the initial announcement, except for the provincial government removing a reference to a 2022 rollout from its digital ID website (now with “ID” removed from the URL), and the subsequent removal of a statement that “Digital ID is the foundation that will enable easier access to online services and make Ontario one of the world’s most digitally advanced jurisdictions.”

“The government has published policy frameworks and conducted public consultations, but delays have pushed the original timeline back,” assesses Royal York Property Management. “The COVID-19 pandemic, technical infrastructure issues, and privacy concerns have contributed to the slower progress.” The policy framework and consultation findings were released in 2021.

Members of the province’s governing Conservative Party told the Toronto Star in June, 2024 that the project had been moved to the “back burner” because it is unpopular with its voter base, and due to privacy concerns.

At the time, the government said it did not have an update for its digital strategy, but would make an announcement when it did.

The property management company speculates that limited rollouts in specific sectors could happen by the end of the year, though no launch date has been announced.

Article Topics

Alberta  |  Canada  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  government services  |  identity document  |  Ontario