Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has issued a new mandate letter to Jason Nixon, Minister of Assisted Living and Social Services and MLA for Rimbey–Rocky Mountain House–Sundre.
The letter, released this week, outlines Nixon’s updated responsibilities and priorities, with a continued focus on affordable housing, care reform, disability services, and intergovernmental collaboration.
Smith credited Nixon for his role in launching the Stronger Foundations affordable housing strategy and Assisted Living Alberta, a new provincial agency overseeing continuing care.
According to the premier, Alberta accounted for nearly 25 per cent of all housing starts in Canada during the first half of 2025, despite having less than 13 per cent of the population. Nixon was also recognized for helping create regulatory conditions that led to a year-over-year decline in rental prices in 2024.
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Going forward, the letter calls Nixon to:
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Continue rolling out the province’s housing strategy by reducing barriers and incentivizing new construction.
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Lead efforts to transition non-acute hospital patients to more appropriate care settings.
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Support Albertans with disabilities by advancing the Alberta Disability Assistance Program and related employment initiatives.
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Work with seniors lodge providers to expand capacity in response to demand.
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Launch a new public website outlining assisted living accommodations and services.
The letter also calls on Minister Nixon to work collaboratively with other ministers tackling issues like classroom learning complexity, health care restructuring, emergency services response times and project procurement practices. It also calls on Nixon to co-lead an Alberta delegation working to help secure the approval for a bitumen pipeline to the west coast.
Nixon was first elected to the Alberta legislature in the 2015 general election.
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