Alberta’s Plan to Add Citizenship on Driver’s Licenses Raises Privacy and Rights Concerns

Toronto — The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is warning that the Alberta government’s plan to add citizenship status to driver’s licenses poses a serious threat to equality rights, privacy, and civil liberties. This measure may also contravene protections under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“Driver’s licenses are a critical form of primary identification and should not be repurposed as tools for immigration enforcement or health surveillance,” said Harini Sivalingam, Director of the Equality Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

“Forcing residents to display citizenship status on one of the most commonly used pieces of ID risks opening the floodgates to discrimination and profiling.”

Driver’s licenses are routinely used as proof of identity in banking, housing, employment, schooling, and law enforcement agencies. Displaying citizenship status in these contexts could result in unequal treatment and stigmatization of immigrants, refugees, and people without citizenship status.

Alberta has also announced plans to build a centralized digital identity system around the new ID card, raising further risks.

“These measures effectively turn your routine ID into a tracking tool that fuses personal, legal, and health information in ways Albertans never consented to,” added Tamir Israel, Director of the Privacy, Surveillance, and Technology Program.

“Creation of a centralized digital ID poses an additional threat of data breach, putting sensitive health information and other data at risk.”

We urge the Government of Alberta to abandon this plan and instead prioritize measures that respect civil liberties, safeguard privacy, and uphold equality for all who call Alberta home.