About CPSA

The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) is Alberta's physician regulator and is responsible for overseeing the practice of medicine in Alberta. Alberta’s Health Professions Act (HPA) grants the privilege of profession-led regulation, which is carried out by CPSA.

What we do

CPSA is the regulator for physicians in Alberta. Much like it is a provincial registry’s role to make sure anyone with a driver’s license is safe to be on the road, we issue practice permits to physicians, ensuring Alberta’s physicians are qualified to provide the best care possible to their patients.

CPSA has been around for over 100 years and through the many changes that come with time, our priority has remained the same: to protect Albertans by guiding the medical profession.

Our role in Alberta's healthcare system

Engaging with communities

CPSA values engaging with Albertans, physicians, our partners and the communities we serve across the province. We support a number of initiatives that help support medical practice in Alberta.

Indigenous Advisory Circle

CPSA guides physicians in providing their patients with quality health care. The Indigenous Advisory Circle helps us better understand and support Indigenous patients and better guide the physicians who care for them.

Community investment and sponsorship

CPSA invests in opportunities that support our strategic goals as Alberta’s medical regulator. Funding requests must meet certain criteria and appropriately recognize CPSA.

Regional Tour

Regional Tour connects CPSA with physicians, partners and Albertans in their communities. During Regional Tour, senior CPSA team and Council members meet with these groups for dynamic discussions and to identify local issues and opportunities to enhance medical care in Alberta.

Request a CPSA speaker

Speakers from CPSA are available to present at your next event.

CPSA annual reports

Each year, CPSA reports on our activities, including regulatory statistics and financials, to the Alberta government. We also take this opportunity to share a reflection on the year with Albertans, physicians and our partners. Here, you can access a five-year archive of our annual reports.

All Resources

2022-2026 Strategic plan

CPSA’s previous strategic plan was updated in 2016 and our vision, mission and values were updated by CPSA Council in May 2017. A lot has changed since then and, most notably, the COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on medical regulation that we haven’t seen before. This presented a unique opportunity to take our learnings from this public health crisis, as well as other significant societal changes from the past few years, to shape and influence our modernized 2022-2026 strategic plan in a way that’s meaningful to CPSA’s team, our regulated members and the Albertans we’re mandated to protect.

Strategic Directions

Vision

Professional, ethical and competent regulated members, providing the highest quality care for all Albertans.

Mission

To serve and protect all Albertans, contributing to their health and wellness by supporting and guiding regulated members to proudly provide safe, high-quality care, together with healthcare partners and patients.

Values

We do the right thing.

We act responsibly, respectfully and with integrity, aspiring to be fair and reasonable. We acknowledge our mistakes as well as our successes, and strive to do what’s right in service to the public.

We make informed decisions.

Our decisions are based on evidence, knowledge, experience and best practice. We plan, measure outcomes and apply what we learn.

We empower people.

We believe people perform best when they see the Vision, set their own goals, have the resources they need and aspire to excellence and personal growth.

We collaborate.

We invite others to contribute to achieving our goals and value their time and expertise. We share what we know generously within our legislated limits, and seek opportunities to collaborate externally in areas of mutual interest.

We are innovators.

We think ahead to create opportunity. We set the bar high and value creativity in exploring new and better ways of doing our work.

We enjoy and find meaning in our work.

We care about what we do and give our best. While our work is serious, we enjoy camaraderie with our coworkers and take time to celebrate each other’s milestones and achievements.

"By living up to our core values, we want each interaction you have with the CPSA team to demonstrate how we are: approachable, collaborative, consistent, informed, thorough and transparent."

- Scott McLeod, CPSA Registrar

Privacy matters

Your privacy is important to us! We take care to protect all the confidential information you share with us.