Alberta Paramedics Working More Than 30,000 hours of OT Every Month as Hiring Slows in EMS: FOIP Documents

EDMONTON – Alberta paramedics are working thousands of overtime hours every month to keep up with 911 calls as retention and recruitment in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has not kept pace with population growth or patient demand, documents show. 

AHS documents obtained by the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) show that overtime now accounts for roughly 8 to 12 per cent of all hours worked by paramedics across the province, amounting to more than 30,000 hours of overtime each month in 2025. In the North Zone, that number rises as high as 16 per cent, or roughly 4,500 overtime hours each month. The documents also show that AHS has not filled its total funded hours in EMS even once in the last three years.

“Paramedics across Alberta are being pushed to their breaking point,” said HSAA Vice-President Leanne Alfaro. “This is more than just picking up a few extra shifts. EMS in Alberta now relies on exhausted professionals who are routinely working long stretches, sometimes mandatory and without rest, to give everything they can without the support they need.”

While Alberta’s population grew by nearly 10 per cent between 2022 and 2025, the documents show the number of paramedics working in Alberta grew by just 4.5 per cent. The total number of Advanced Care Paramedics (ACPs) in full-time positions did not change at all during that time — with 840 full-time ACPs on the job in May, the same number as three years ago.

Separate data obtained by the Investigative Journalism Foundation through FOIP reinforces this trend. In the Edmonton Zone alone, overtime among EMS staff rose by 81 per cent between 2021 and 2024 — from 74,356 hours to 134,573 hours — costing Albertans nearly $10 million last year alone.

“The numbers tell a clear story,” said Alfaro. “Paramedics are covering thousands of extra hours every month because there simply aren’t enough of them. Alberta can’t expect to improve emergency response while burning out our first responders. Better compensation and working conditions would actually save taxpayer dollars while helping Alberta retain and recruit more of these critical health-care professionals.”

HSAA represents more than 30,000 specialized health-care professionals, including paramedics, respiratory therapists, psychologists, pharmacists, diagnostic imaging technologists and 200 more who deliver critical care across Alberta’s health system. 

HSAA’s “Put Yourself in Their Shoes” campaign asks Albertans to step into the experience of professionals who continue to deliver critical care in a system stretched to its limits. 

-30-

A copy of the FOIP request is attached to this release. HSAA Vice-President Leanne Alfaro is available for interviews upon request.

Media Inquiries:  
Matt Dykstra, Communications Officer  
780-224-9202 | mdykstra@hsaa.ca