The Government of Alberta has announced new upcoming Alberta codes editions. They are:
National Building Code – 2022 Alberta Edition (NBC(AE))
National Fire Code – 2022 Alberta Edition (NFC(AE))
National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB) 2020
The province is updating its construction codes based on the 2020 National Building Code, National Fire Code and National Energy Code for Buildings, which were published by the National Research Council in March 2022.
Alberta has jurisdiction over safety codes, as do all Canadian provinces and territories. The Alberta government worked closely with industry, municipal associations and technical experts across the province to determine if Alberta needed to modify anything from the 2020 national code publications. The government also works with Alberta's Safety Codes Council to review safety codes and standards proposed for adoption and receives input and advice from the Council to help ensure the codes are appropriate for Alberta.
While Alberta is a signatory to the Construction Codes Reconciliation Agreement to reduce barriers to trade and support harmonized codes across Canada, the provincially focused review ensured that the upcoming changes to Alberta code editions best support the needs of Albertans.
Key changes to the Alberta editions of the building, fire and energy codes:
- Farm buildings will continue to be exempt from Alberta's editions of the building, energy efficiency and fire codes.
- Alberta is adopting tier 1 as the minimum province-wide standard for building energy efficiency for housing and small buildings under Part 9 of the Alberta edition of the National Building Code and tier 1 for energy efficiency for other buildings in the National Energy Code for Buildings. These codes allow provinces and territories to choose from 5 tiers or levels for energy efficiency performance at a pace best suited for their jurisdiction and in recognition of their specific sources of energy.
Alberta's process for adopting safety codes
Alberta regulations enable 'timely code adoption' which brings national or international code changes into force for one year after their publication. This provides predictability so that industry, municipalities and other sectors (such as educational institutions) can confidently plan and prepare for new code changes. The Minister by order may also bring codes into force earlier or later than the 12-month period. The coming into force date will be advanced for the codes because of the two-year delay in the publication of the 2020 national code editions.
The upcoming Alberta editions of the National Building Code and National Fire Code and the National Energy Code for Buildings will come into force on the same date in the spring 2024. Municipal Affairs will provide additional notifications and information on the exact date along with other information related to the updated codes over the coming months to ensure municipalities, industry, safety codes officers and code users are prepared in advance of the coming into force date.
https://www.alberta.ca/building-codes-and-standards.aspx
https://www.alberta.ca/fire-codes-and-standards.aspx
As with the 2019 publications, the Alberta editions of the National Building Code, National Fire Code and the National Energy Code for Buildings will be available online and in downloadable form for free from the National Research Council. Paper copies are also available for order at a reduced price.
Transition Period
Municipal Affairs recognizes that municipalities require flexibility to appropriately manage the transition period for the administration of new code requirements. Industry also benefits from additional time to become familiar with the new code changes. There is a transition period to allow municipalities and other authorities having jurisdiction the time to prepare for the new code changes and allow construction in progress with a valid permit to continue under the previous code edition. More detail on the transition period will be made available in upcoming notices from Municipal Affairs.
For further information contact Municipal Affairs.
Email: safety.services@gov.ab.ca
Call: toll-free at 1-866-421-6929
