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Province expands Family Justice Strategy with new funding and community rollout
EDMONTON — Alberta is expanding its Family Justice Strategy with an additional $3.2 million in funding from Budget 2025, bringing the total investment to $11.2 million. The move is aimed at helping more Albertans resolve family disputes outside of court and easing pressure on the justice system.
Justice Minister Mickey Amery says the expansion will provide faster, more accessible support. “We’re making it easier for Albertans to resolve family matters by expanding access to pre-court services,” said Amery in a statement. “This investment means more communities will benefit from simpler, faster supports that put families first.”
The funding will allow the strategy to expand into Grande Prairie, Stony Plain, St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Leduc and Fort Saskatchewan. Services offered through the program include mediation, an online Parenting After Separation course, and meetings with family court counsellors for self-represented individuals.
Launched in Edmonton and Calgary in late 2023 and later expanded to Red Deer, the strategy has already helped more than 69,000 Albertans. The government says dispute resolution use rose 33 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to two years earlier.
Robert D.L. Bassett, president of the Canadian Bar Association – Alberta Branch, called the strategy’s continued expansion a “significant achievement,” and praised the effort to improve access to justice and streamline court processes for families.
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