CALGARY, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) — Alberta has released a digital wallet to replace paper health cards and store other government documents.
In an August 29 press release, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the “Alberta Wallet,” a digital wallet that will allow Albertans to store government-issued documents and identification on their phone.
“Albertans deserve better, faster and smarter services,” Smith said. “That’s why we’re launching this optional tool to supplement Albertans’ existing paper health cards. If you choose to use the new Alberta Wallet, you remain in control of your personal information, which will stay private and only accessible to you.”
The Mobile Health Card, which was formerly a paper carried by Albertans in their wallet, will be the first document available. Currently, the digital wallet remains voluntary, and Albertans can opt to keep their paper health cards.
Alberta further plans to add more government-issued documents to the digital wallet, including a driver’s license by 2026.
The press release assures Albertans that “with security and privacy at the core, the Alberta Wallet and Mobile Health Card are protected by strong encryptions, ensuring that Albertans’ personal information stays private and accessible only to them. Albertans will also be in control of their personal information as nothing is shared with third parties without their consent.”
However, many have voiced concerns over the digital system, warning it could infringe on privacy rights and usher in government control.
“Obvious incrementalism,” one Canadian commented under Alberta’s announcement of the plan on X. “You start with a health card, then debit & credit cards, then a vax card, then a digital ID card, then a social credit score, then it’s mandatory. Then you have total control of our lives. No thanks.”
“This is WEF digital ID system,” another wrote. “Hard pass. Do better Alberta.”
Canadians have a strong record of resisting the use of digital IDs to access government services, as proven by Privy Council research from 2023.
At the same time, current Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has a history of supporting central bank digital currencies and in 2022 supported “choking off the money” donated to the Freedom Convoy protests against COVID mandates.
As late as February, the Liberal government under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s immigration ministry, as reported by LifeSiteNews, was secretly asking Canadians via surveys if they would accept a national identification program that would likely end up requiring each citizen to always have a type of “digital” passport on them.
While the Liberal government under Trudeau insisted the program would be optional, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre nonetheless sounded the alarm by promising to introduce a new bill that would “expressly prohibit” digital IDs in Canada.
Digital IDs and similar systems have long been pushed by globalist groups like the World Economic Forum, an organization with which Liberal Party leader Mark Carney has extensive ties, under the guise of ease of access and security.
Critics, however, have warned that the purpose of such a system is actually to centralize control over citizens. This opinion seems to be mirrored by the general public, with a Bank of Canada survey finding that Canadians are very wary of a government-backed digital currency, concluding that a “significant number” of citizens would resist the implementation of such a system.