Impaired Driving (Alberta)

Generally, the Criminal Code is the basis for impaired driving charges, but there may be supplementary sanctions under provincial law.

As of December 1, 2020, Alberta implemented new impaired driving legislation. First-time offenders with a blood alcohol concentration between 50 and below 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood (the WARN level) will be subject to penalties under the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act. These penalties include a 3-day licence suspension, a 3-day vehicle seizure, and a $300 fine.

If you receive an Immediate Roadside Sanction (IRS) Notice of Administrative Penalty in Alberta, it is important to be aware that you only have seven days, including weekends, to request a review. If the seventh day falls on a statutory holiday, the deadline generally extends to the next non-holiday day. The government agency responsible for handling these reviews is SafeRoads Alberta. The paperwork you received from the police officer, such as the Notice of Administrative Penalty and the IRS form, will include instructions on how to request a review and the timeframe for doing so.

If you have received an Immediate Roadside Sanction (IRS) for impaired driving in Alberta, you can request a review through SafeRoads Alberta. This process can be challenging because it involves both criminal-driving issues and provincial administrative penalties. If you are representing yourself in the review, you may face additional challenges. Appeals may be denied for reasons such as including irrelevant information, not properly setting out the grounds for review, or unintentionally incriminating yourself.

If you are able to successfully review your IRS, you may be able to avoid paying the $1,000 fine plus 20% victim fine surcharge, having your licence subject to a 90-day absolute suspension followed by a 12-month extended suspension, and having an entry on your driving record for impaired driving. Winning a review can also help you maintain your ability to drive for work, transport your children, and meet other daily needs.

The penalties for a first-time IRS: FAIL are:

• A fine of $1,000 plus a 20% victim fine surcharge ($200), for a total of $1,200
• An immediate 90-day licence suspension, during which you cannot drive under any circumstances
• A further 12-month licence suspension, during which you may participate in the Ignition Interlock Program and drive with a breath-testing device (a "blow box") installed in your vehicle; if you choose not to participate, you remain fully suspended for that additional 12 months
• A 30-day vehicle seizure, with all impound costs your responsibility
• Mandatory completion of the Planning Ahead course
• A record of the sanction on your driving abstract

These are provincial administrative penalties under section 88.1 of Alberta's Traffic Safety Act, not Criminal Code convictions. They are separate from any criminal charges police may also lay, which carry their own court-imposed penalties. Taken together, the administrative consequences generally add up to a significant financial burden, and they will typically affect your insurance premiums for years.

In some cases, drivers in Alberta may be charged under both the SafeRoads Alberta (IRS) regime and the Criminal Code of Canada. It is important to understand that these are two separate processes with different consequences.

Under SafeRoads Alberta, a first FAIL-level offence carries a 90-day absolute licence suspension followed by a 12-month suspension period, a 30-day vehicle seizure, a $1,000 administrative fine (plus a 20% victim fine surcharge), and a mandatory education course. Under the Criminal Code, a first conviction carries a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000, and can also result in a criminal record.

If you are charged under both regimes, you may face consequences from each process separately. The administrative and criminal proceedings are independent of each other, so a resolution in one does not automatically resolve the other. If you have received Immediate Roadside Sanctions under the SafeRoads regime and have also been charged with a criminal offence, it may be beneficial to seek the assistance of a lawyer with experience in these matters.

In Alberta, the penalties for a second impaired driving offence are more severe than those for a first offence, and it is important to understand that the Criminal Code and Alberta's IRS regime each impose their own separate consequences.

Under the Criminal Code, the mandatory minimum sentence for a second conviction is 30 days in jail. There is no fine option for a second offence under the Criminal Code; a custodial sentence is required. The maximum sentence on indictment is up to 10 years in prison.

Under Alberta's SafeRoads IRS regime, a second FAIL-level offence carries a 90-day absolute licence suspension followed by a 36-month further suspension period, a 30-day vehicle seizure, a $2,000 administrative fine (plus a 20% victim fine surcharge), and a mandatory treatment program.

It is important to note that judges have discretion to impose sentences above the mandatory minimum depending on the circumstances of a case. For example, if your blood alcohol concentration was significantly above the legal limit, or if you were involved in an accident while driving impaired, the court may impose more severe penalties.

Impaired driving has two separate layers of consequences in Alberta. The first is the criminal charge under the Criminal Code of Canada — the same offence, penalties and mandatory minimums everywhere in Canada. The second is Alberta’s own administrative layer — licence suspensions, vehicle impoundment and program requirements that are not a criminal conviction and can apply even before, or without, a criminal charge.

For the criminal charge and the penalties that apply everywhere in Canada, see Impaired Driving.

Roadside suspensions and blood alcohol thresholds

Alberta handles most impaired-driving stops first as a provincial administrative matter through Immediate Roadside Sanctions (IRS), run by SafeRoads Alberta under the Traffic Safety Act. These sanctions are triggered by a reading or an officer’s observations at the roadside — not by a criminal conviction — and they are not a criminal penalty.

• Roadside suspicion: if an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect a driver’s ability is affected by alcohol, drugs or a medical condition, the officer can issue an immediate 24-hour licence suspension and a 24-hour vehicle seizure on the spot.
• Warn: at a blood alcohol concentration of 50 mg or more per 100 mL of blood, but under the 80 mg reading that triggers a Fail sanction, a driver faces a 3-day licence suspension and a 3-day vehicle seizure the first time, a 15-day suspension and a 7-day seizure the second time, and a 30-day suspension and a 7-day seizure the third and later times, along with a fine of $300 the first time, $600 the second time, or $1,200 the third and later times.
• Fail: at a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more per 100 mL of blood, visible impairment, or a failure or refusal to comply with a breath, blood or drug demand, a driver faces an immediate 90-day suspension, followed by a further 12-month suspension the first time, 36 months the second time, or a lifetime suspension the third and later times, plus a 30-day vehicle seizure every time and a fine of $1,000 the first time or $2,000 after that.

The 80 mg reading that triggers a Fail sanction is a separate administrative test under the Traffic Safety Act — it is not the criminal charge itself, even though a reading that high can also support a Criminal Code charge, which is covered on the federal impaired-driving page linked above.

Zero-tolerance rules for novice and commercial drivers

Two groups face automatic sanctions for any alcohol or drug in their body, on top of the thresholds above:

• Novice drivers (a learner’s or probationary licence): an automatic 30-day licence suspension, a 7-day vehicle seizure, and a $200 fine.
• Commercial drivers: a 3-day suspension and a $300 fine the first time, a 15-day suspension and $600 the second time, and a 30-day suspension and $1,200 the third and later times. This category does not carry an automatic vehicle seizure the way the other sanctions above do.

Vehicle impoundment

Vehicle seizure applies to most of these roadside sanctions: 24 hours for a roadside-suspicion suspension, 7 days for a novice zero-tolerance suspension, 3 or 7 days for a Warn sanction depending on how many times it has happened, and 30 days for every Fail sanction. The commercial zero-tolerance category is the exception — it does not carry an automatic vehicle seizure.

Ignition interlock

During the further suspension that follows a Fail sanction, a driver can apply to drive early on condition that the vehicle carries an approved alcohol-sensing (ignition interlock) device for the same period as the further suspension — 12 months, 36 months, or for life. A driver facing the lifetime suspension can apply to have it reviewed after 10 years.

Reinstatement and program requirements

Additional education, assessment, interlock, reinstatement, or program conditions may apply before a licence is fully restored.

Reinstatement fees, towing and storage costs, interlock costs, or program fees may also apply.

Alberta’s Immediate Roadside Sanctions program is a provincial administrative penalty under the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act, and that Act states directly that its penalties may not include imprisonment and that no person is liable to imprisonment as a consequence of a notice of administrative penalty. An IRS sanction is not a criminal conviction, and it does not replace a Criminal Code charge — the provincial administrative process and a criminal charge can proceed alongside each other for the same incident.

If a court separately finds a person guilty under the Criminal Code, the Traffic Safety Act adds its own further driving disqualification on top of whatever the criminal court orders — 1 year for a first finding of guilt, 3 years for a second finding within the preceding 10 years, and 5 years for a third finding within that 10-year window. This disqualification is a distinct provincial consequence that follows a criminal conviction; it is separate from the roadside IRS sanctions described above, and separate from a Criminal Code court prohibition order under section 320.24.