89% of health professionals agree: Alberta's health care system is in crisis.

Survey Shows Health Care Professionals Want Budget 2025 to Fix Short Staffing, Raise Wages, and Invest in Public Care

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EDMONTON - As the Government of Alberta prepares to release Budget 2025, a new survey of frontline health care professionals confirms what those working in the system already know: Alberta’s health care system is in crisis and requires new investments in staffing.

The survey, conducted by Abacus Data on behalf of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), polled 1,260 Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) members working in Alberta’s health care system between November 22 and December 16, 2024—roughly the same period the government conducted its own budget consultation.

The results paint a grim picture of chronic staffing shortages, severe burnout, and rising financial stress among Alberta’s most diverse and specialized health care professionals.

“Alberta’s health-care system is in crisis because we simply don’t have enough professionals on the frontlines,” said HSAA President Mike Parker, speaking on behalf of 30,000 members.

“Short staffing is driving health care professionals to exhaustion and their wages have not kept up with rising inflation. It’s clear they are overworked and underpaid. Budget 2025 must invest in public health care and fair wages to keep these professionals and recruit more. Without immediate action, Albertans will see increased wait times, reduced quality of care, and a higher risk of medical errors.”

80% of health professionals agree: short staffing is impacting their health and well-being.

Survey Reveals Alberta’s Health Care System is in Crisis:

  • 89 per cent of HSAA members say Alberta’s health care system is in crisis.
  • 80 per cent say short staffing is impacting their health and well-being.
  • 73 per cent say they are working longer and longer hours but still facing financial stress.
  • 67 per cent report inadequate staffing levels, and 63 per cent say they are facing burnout.
  • 65 per cent blame chronic underfunding, and 64 per cent say government policy failures are making the crisis worse.

What Health Workers Need from Budget 2025:

  • 83 per cent say fair compensation is essential to improving the health system.
  • 81 per cent want increased public health care funding.
  • 70 per cent say Alberta needs to establish minimum staff patient ratios.

“The health care professionals who keep Alberta’s hospitals and emergency services running are telling the government exactly what they need: fair pay, better staffing, and an end to privatization schemes that siphon money away from patient care,” said NUPGE President Bert Blundon.

“Across Canada, workers are telling us that better conditions directly contribute to better health care for all of us. These frontline professionals have shared experiences that show how urgent the situation is across the country. It’s time for governments to take action.”

HSAA and NUPGE are calling on the Government of Alberta to use Budget 2025 to properly fund public health care, stop signing expensive for-profit health care contracts, and start ensuring health care professionals are paid fairly for the vital work they do.

“We’re talking about the lab technologists analyzing critical samples, the paramedics responding to life-and-death calls, and the respiratory therapists keeping patients breathing,” Parker added. “This budget must recognize the highly skilled work these professionals do and ensure they have the fair compensation and staffing levels needed to continue providing high-quality care.”

The survey has a margin of error of +/- 2.7 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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Media Inquiries: 

Matt Dykstra, Communications Officer 

587-991-9445 | mdykstra@hsaa.ca