The government of Alberta is providing a one-time grant of $20 million to upgrade school security infrastructure and $2 million for safety-related training for school staff.

“In response to the tragedy in Tumbler Ridge, we are taking decisive action to strengthen school security and ensure staff are better prepared to respond in critical moments,” said Demetrios Nicolaides, minister of education and childcare. “Safety cannot be an afterthought, and we will continue working closely with school boards to make sure they have the infrastructure, tools and training needed to protect students and staff when it matters most.”

The funding allocated for building security improvements will be distributed to eligible school boards based on student enrollment and will support upgrades such as locks, doors, security cameras, window coverings and other related measures.

Funding for safety training will help school authorities strengthen their preparedness and response capacity to various safety incidents. Of the $2 million in funding earmarked, a one-time grant of $1.75 million will be distributed among public school authorities based on the number of student enrollments. The remaining $250,000 will be awarded to the Association of Independent Schools & Colleges in Alberta to provide training to eligible leaders from independent schools.

Schools will determine the best way to use this funding. Eligible training may include trauma-informed practices, emergency preparedness, multidisciplinary approaches to intervention, or critical incident response.

School authorities will be required to report on the use of funds, by means of an interim report due in November 2026 and a final report due in November 2027.

Over the next few months, the government will also implement uniform provincial standards that will support the safety of students and schools across all public, separate, French-language and chartered school authorities, as well as accredited independent school authorities.