Lab services on the move again, this time to Primary Care Alberta

Alberta's lab services are facing yet another move as the provincial government forges ahead with its health system restructuring process.

Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL), which provides all community- and hospital-based lab services in the province, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alberta Health Services.

But ownership will shift to Primary Care Alberta on April 1, 2026.

The change is part of the province's effort to restructure the health system and dismantle Alberta Health Services (AHS) as a single health authority. Four health-related ministries now oversee multiple health delivery agencies: Primary Care Alberta, Acute Care Alberta, Recovery Alberta and Assisted Living Alberta.

In a statement, the Alberta government said the ownership transition will “strengthen laboratory services across the province without adding cost or complexity for Albertans.”

Primary Care Alberta will provide governance and oversight under the Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services, it confirmed.

“Patients will continue to receive the same high‑quality lab services they rely on today, while the change positions APL to help better support community‑based care in the future,” said Maddison McKee, press secretary to minister Adriana LaGrange.

The move comes after years of upheaval and just months after Alberta’s auditor general issued a report outlining the provincial government’s failed and costly efforts to privatize community lab services. The government eventually purchased Dynalife and moved lab services back into the public system, under APL.

With the latest ownership transition to Primary Care Alberta, APL will continue operating as an independent organization and no job losses are expected, the province said.

Still, Dr. Etienne Mahe, section president of lab physicians with the Alberta Medical Association, said he and his colleagues don’t have much clear information about the path forward.

“There’s been a significant lack of communication,” he said.

He was worried the province may consider privatizing lab services once again.

“It just didn’t work for Alberta, and I was quite concerned," said Mahe.

“So at least for the moment we are reassured by that.”