Province mulls subsidy options to attract regional air service
Province mulls subsidy options to attract regional air service
Province mulls subsidy options to attract regional air service
By ZOE MASON on August 12, 2026.
Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen speaks to media in Calgary in this May 2022 file photo.--cp file photoMinister of Transportation Devin Dreeshen said the province is considering using government subsidies to help attract a new provider for regional air service in southern Alberta.
The province launched a request for expressions of interest in June, which asked regional air carriers and aviation operators for information regarding potential route opportunities, service models, funding considerations and feasibility.
The request closed to submissions on July 6.
“If I had a magic wand, I’d love to be able to see different providers being interested in having additional passenger service out of Medicine Hat and other regional airports across the province. That’s the work we’re undertaking right now, to figure out how best to do that,” Dreeshen said at a roundtable Tuesday.
In 2024, Premier Danielle Smith raised the possibility of the province covering some of the initial losses of airlines that agree to expand service to regional airports during an appearance at a Chamber of Commerce event in the Hat.
Dreeshen says the province is still considering that option, which is already practised in jurisdictions like Saskatchewan.
“When you look at Saskatchewan, they have a model where the provincial government subsidizes a certain number of seats per route that they choose to make sure you can maintain that level of service. If you have enough passengers, that subsidy never kicks in. But if you don’t, then at least the provider knows they’re not going to lose their shirts being able to have that service,” said Dreeshen.
“That’s something we’re looking at as an option.”
For the time being, he said his ministry is focused on identifying possible providers. Dreeshen says the province is also paying special attention to providers that can offer both passenger and cargo services.
“To see those economic benefits of being able to do cargo flights as well as passenger flights is something that we’re looking at,” he said.
Dreeshen also responded to questions about his ministry’s efforts to crack down on enforcement for commercial trucking safety.
Since October, the Alberta government has issued 443 administrative penalties and eliminated 20 unsafe carriers from Alberta’s roads. Since April 2025, the ministry has also shut down five fraudulent Class 1 trucking schools.
One of the 20 carriers that has had Alberta operations terminated is Conquer Transportation – the company whose truck was responsible for the fatal crash in Brandon in May.
The carrier was previously registered in Manitoba before having its safety permit revoked in 2021. The company later registered in Alberta.
“Provinces being able to share data amongst themselves is something that we’ve been advocating for quite some time, because they does help on these chameleon carrier-type folks that can pop up in every other province,” said Dreeshen.
He also says his ministry is advocating for implementing new certifications for the trucking industry, including possible inclusion within the Red Seal interprovincial trade standards system.
“That’s something that’s in the advanced education world right now, being able to design what the curriculum would look like for a Red Seal certification. So a ticket, similar to being an electrician, to be able to have a certain set of criteria in training up to the trucking industry to so you’re having that type of professionalism.”
Dreeshen says that idea would require five other provinces to sign on.
The minister also provided a brief update on the Highway 3 twinning project. The section between Taber and Burdett, the first of eight sectors, was recently completed. The section spanning Medicine Hat to Whitla remains in the design stage.
“The other sections are all in varying stages, whether it’s design or engineering, to make sure they can get the construction dollars to complete it all the way from Medicine Hat to the B.C. border,” said Dreeshen.
He says conversations are underway with his counterparts in the British Columbia government to try to extend twinning on the other side of the border to avoid a bottleneck at Crowsnest Pass.
By Zoe Mason, with Medicine Hat News