If you typed this search, you probably already have one question: “Do I need to change how we work right now?” The honest answer is no — not because of a 2026 Code package, because there isn’t one yet. Alberta’s 2026 OHS Code activity is a review and consultation, not a set of new rules that took effect. Before you change a single safe work practice or rewrite your OHS program, separate what’s already law from what’s still on a consultation table.
The 2026 OHS Code picture: review, not a compliance date
The OHS Code is the technical regulation under Alberta’s OHS Act, and the government has to publish a plan to review it every three years. The current review cycle runs 2025 to 2026. These parts are under review:
- Part 36: Mining (a continuation from an earlier cycle)
- Part 40: Utility Workers – Electrical
- Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) review
- The province’s approach to referencing technical standards
Albertans submitted feedback on this third group of changes through an online survey in 2026. The results are under review. As of this writing, the sources do not show a final 2026 amendment in force. That’s the key point: treat what you’re hearing as draft material, not an order.
What’s on the table today
Electrical utility work (Part 40)
The 2026 consultation includes proposed changes to Part 40. One official survey document asks industry to describe how a proposed “Change A” to section 800 is not practicable for their industry or activity. That tells you the government is still gathering feedback on specific wording before deciding what, if anything, becomes law. If you don’t work on electrical utility systems, this part likely won’t land on your plate directly.
OEL review and technical standards
The OEL review and the approach to referencing technical standards are broader. They can affect exposure limits and how standards like CSA requirements are pulled into the Code. But again, the source material describes review topics; it does not name a new exposure limit or a new referencing rule we can point to yet.
What you should do now
- Keep meeting the current Code. The most recent completed groups took effect March 31, 2023, and March 31, 2025. If you haven’t reviewed the 2025 updates — they touched harassment and violence, explosives, and oil and gas wells — do that before chasing 2026 drafts.
- Check whether the 2026 review topics actually apply to your operations. Most mid-sized construction and trades employers won’t be directly covered by the mining or electrical utility parts. Your bigger exposure is the OEL and technical-standards work, which hasn’t produced final numbers yet.
- Don’t rewrite your safety program around proposed wording. Proposed rules get changed after feedback. Use a current OHS program development review to close gaps against what the law says today, not what a consultation PDF suggests.
- Monitor the official OHS Code review page on Alberta.ca. That’s where the government posts status changes, survey results, and eventual Ministerial Orders. The OHS Resource Portal and legislation search tool are the places to find final versions.
If you’d rather not track this alone
This is exactly the kind of moving regulatory picture a safety consultant exists to manage. Salient Health & Safety works with Alberta construction and trades employers to build and maintain OHS programs that reflect the current Code — and to flag upcoming changes before they become urgent. If you’d like us to review your program against today’s requirements and identify whether any 2026 review topics touch your work, book a discovery call. And if a gap is found, we’ll help you close it through our OHS program development service.