EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s government is limiting what behaviour professional regulators can police in the name of strengthening freedom of expression.

A new bill introduced in the house aims to narrow what kind of behaviour regulated professionals — from architects to welders — can be disciplined for by their independent regulators.

Smith is calling it Alberta’s “Peterson law,” after the Ontario psychologist and social media personality Jordan Peterson, who was sanctioned by his province’s professional regulator for controversial public statements.

Smith says regulatory bodies have gone too far in disciplining people for “speaking their own mind on their own time,” and she wants them focused on the professional competence of their members.

She says her government has heard from nurses, doctors and teachers who have been punished or had their licences threatened for off-duty comments made on social media, at protests or city council meetings.

The bill, introduced by Justice Minister Mickey Amery, would also limit what professional training members might be forced to take.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2025.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press