News & Announcements

An updated version of the Lawyer Training Manual for the Family Focused Protocol has been posted to the Court’s Family Focused Protocol webpage.

The Court of King’s Bench has made changes to the scheduling of Emergency Protection Order hearings in Fort McMurray, to Chambers dates in Grande Prairie, and to Chambers and Criminal Appearance Court times in St. Paul.

As proud Albertans, we care deeply about this province and the people of Alberta. The judges on Alberta’s three courts—the Court of Justice, the Court of King’s Bench and the Court of Appeal—recognize that our fundamental role is to serve Albertans. We do this by upholding our oath of office to decide each case honestly, impartially, and to the best of our ability. We know that our decisions can profoundly impact the people who come before the courts. We take this responsibility seriously.

The Court has consolidated information regarding the Family Focused Protocol on a new webpage. The Quick Guides and Supplemental Help materials section of that webpage is continually updated, and now includes Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the FFP.

In connection with the Court of King’s Bench Family Focused Protocol, which came into effect January 2, 2026, the Court has revised its Notices to Profession and Public regarding (a) the Family Justice Protocol Mandatory Requirements and (b) Family Streamlined Trials.

We are pleased to announce the expansion of the King’s Bench Filing Digital Service – Family and Divorce (FFDS) to include many lawyers whose filings are exempt from filing fees. Effective January 13, 2026, qualifying lawyers with a Law Society of Alberta Bar ID will be able to submit filings through FFDS for all King’s Bench locations within the Province of Alberta.

The Jury Management Digital Service is piloting an online summons response and workflow for Edmonton, English only matters. This pilot project commenced on December 8, 2025. Prospective jurors can submit their online response via the service, which can be accessed at jury.alberta.ca/. Once submitted, the response can be reviewed and processed by Deputy Sheriffs through the service's Jury Management Dashboard.

Effective January 2, 2026, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta is launching a project that will implement a series of new processes focused on a family-centred, resolution-oriented, and streamlined approach to family matters. A family entering the system will be assigned a Mandatory Intake Triage (MIT) Justice who will meet with the parties to assess and deal with any interim needs. That same Justice will become the family’s Case Conference Justice and will assist them with all of the required steps to guide them to a final determination through resolution or by trial. This project is called the Family Focused Protocol (FFP).

Effective December 2025, the visual design of Court of King’s Bench digital services will be updated to reflect the Courts’ visual identity. These changes will be applied first to the Surrogate Digital Service (SDS), beginning December 4, 2025. Other services will follow in the coming months.

The Court of King’s Bench will be on an urgent-matters only hearing schedule from December 22, 2025, to January 2, 2026, inclusive. Justices will be available to hear urgent matters, emergency protection order reviews and bail reviews in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Lethbridge on December 22-23, 2025 and January 2, 2026.