Alberta's "single, secure ID" would print a visible "CAN" citizenship marker on licences starting in 2026 and force in-person proof of status at renewal. Marketed as modernization and election integrity, it actually builds a system for mass discrimination: a three-letter label that invites snap judgments by landlords, employers, bars, banks, and service counters. Costs shift to the public through document purchases, registry fees, and repeat visits, while Vital Statistics backlogs grow. With no enforceable guardrails, penalties, opt-out, or fee relief, routine identification becomes a status test and a sorting tool. This scheme normalizes second-class treatment—and must be stopped now, immediately.

A graphic titled 'Costs in Practice' listing three travel-related costs with icons: 1) purchasing or replacing a birth certificate, represented by stacked documents labeled 'Birth Certificate'; 2) obtaining passport or proofs, represented by a passport and ID card; 3) registry fees, represented by a person and a document with a dollar sign.

Wallet-size or laminated birth certificates many people still carry are not valid for this purpose. Most renewals will demand the full-size, unlaminated Vital Statistics certificate or equivalent federal proofs. Lost records, basement damage, name mismatches from marriage, divorce, or adoption, and out-of-province births all trigger replacement processes with separate fees and timelines. Naturalized Canadians must locate citizenship certificates that are expensive and slow to replace. Practical security advice once said to avoid carrying originals; now you must produce them, or secure certified copies, before renewal. The paper chase comes first; the licence arrives later. Rural residents face longer waits, travel.

An infographic titled "The Lineup Effect" showing three examples of a negative process. First, a person with a serious expression holds a document with a warning sign. Second, an unhappy person faces an hourglass labeled "Increased Wait." Third, a person looks sad and is turning away, representing being turned away or a lost trip.

Only citizens receive “CAN.” Non-citizens receive nothing visible. In everyday checks—rentals, bars, banks, and hiring—a three-letter code becomes a split-second sort: extra deposit, extra ID, delay, or denial. Gatekeepers are not immigration experts; they make hurried calls under pressure, and bias can ride along. Visible status markers invite profiling even when unlawful, because enforcement is rare and accountability diffuse. Without published guardrails, penalties, training, and complaint channels, misuse becomes inevitable and harms concentrate on newcomers, students, and racialized communities. A better approach would verify eligibility without branding people, minimizing opportunities for snap judgments by strangers at doors, desks, and counters.

Poster with three sections comparing minimal election gains: the first shows a person with a photo ID labeled 'Already in Place'; the second shows a watch and warning sign labeled 'More Friction'; the third shows a document with a check mark labeled 'Better Alternatives'.

The province claims there’s no extra fee to print “CAN.” On paper, that’s technically true; in practice, many Albertans must first purchase or replace proofs that registries now require at the counter. Replacement birth certificates commonly total about forty to forty-five dollars including service fees, while citizenship certificates and passports cost substantially more and take longer. Private registries add their own fees by design, multiplying small charges into real costs. No-cost on plastic does not mean no cost in life; the expense shifts to documents, travel, time off work, parking, and repeat visits. Receipts add up for families on budgets.

A poster titled 'Document Hurdles' with three sections: the first shows a pile of documents labeled 'Birth Certificate' with a note 'No Wallet Size'; the second depicts a worried woman with arrows pointing up and down and a document symbol, labeled 'Rejig Records'; the third shows a sad woman with a dollar sign and the text 'Order Again' underneath.

Requiring status proof transforms a quick photo-and-pay renewal into a mini adjudication. Clerks scrutinize birth certificates, passports, translations, hyphenated names, and adoption records; manager overrides become frequent, and edge cases stall counters. Order volumes at Vital Statistics spike, producing backlogs that push more people to arrive without documents in time, prompting deferrals and second trips. Training gaps and evolving policy memos during rollout further slow service, particularly outside major centres. The feedback loop is predictable: heavier counter time, longer lines, and frustrated customers returning repeatedly. What looked like streamlining on paper lands as congestion at the counter, province-wide. For months.

Infographic titled 'Two-Tier by Glance' comparing citizens' perceptions. Left panel: a smiling citizen with the word 'CAN' above and 'CITIZENS' below. Middle panel: a person with a sad expression and a thumbs-down icon, labeled 'SNAP JUDGMENT.' Right panel: a woman with a sad face labeled 'MORE LIMITS.'

Alberta already requires identification and proof of address to vote, while citizenship is enforced through registration systems, declarations, and audits. Placing a visible “CAN” on millions of licences adds negligible protective value to front-line screening yet introduces friction at renewal and risks misuse beyond elections. Better policy would enable secure electronic verification of birth records at registries, waive fees when proof is solely for “CAN,” and provide a genuine opt-out of printing the marker. It should also publish service standards, penalties for misuse, and a real privacy impact assessment. Until then, this is mostly optics, not protection. For ordinary people.