Alberta's Care First Shift and the Long Retreat from Auto Injury Lawsuits
Alberta is preparing to replace most motor vehicle injury lawsuits with statutory care and income benefits in 2027. Canada's history shows why each province has drawn the line between compensation and tort differently.
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Alberta's Care First insurance system is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2027, replacing most motor vehicle injury lawsuits with prescribed treatment, income and impairment benefits. But this isn't Canada's first attempt to decide whether an injured person should be compensated through the courts or an insurance scheme.
In this in-depth Binder Law analysis, Morgan Reid traces nearly 50 years of Canadian auto injury reform, including Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Ontario. The article revisits Alberta's Minor Injury Regulation and the Morrow constitutional challenge, examines the disputed exceptions to the new tort bar, and considers how plaintiff and insurance defence counsel are preparing for a different kind of legal fight. It asks what accountability and access to justice may look like when the centre of a claim moves from a courtroom to an insurer and a tribunal.
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