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No statewide law

Alberta

Last checked October 29, 2026

By Peter Benes and Adrienne Kmetz, editors. Updated October 29, 2026.

Alberta has no province-wide outdoor lighting or dark-sky statute that we could find; rules are municipal. Calgary's Community Standards Bylaw 32M2023, section 36, bans outdoor lights shining directly into another home's living or sleeping areas ($100 minimum, $300 specified penalty). Bon Accord's Bylaw 2015-07 requires fully shielded fixtures and lighting zones. RASC preserves include Jasper and Beaver Hills.

StatuteCitationYear
Community Standards Bylaw, section 36 (outdoor lights)Bylaw 32M2023, City of Calgary (passed July 4, 2023)2023
Light Efficient Community Standards BylawBylaw 2015-07, Town of Bon Accord2015

Municipal codes

  • Calgary: Community Standards Bylaw 32M2023, section 36: no owner or occupier may let an outdoor light shine directly into the living or sleeping areas of another dwelling unless the Land Use Bylaw or a permit allows it. Penalty $100 minimum, $300 specified.
  • Bon Accord: Bylaw 2015-07, based on the IDA and IES Model Lighting Ordinance, requires fully shielded fixtures and sets lighting zones with total-light limits. On August 12, 2015 it became the first International Dark Sky Community in Canada.
  • Beaver Hills and other RASC preserves: RASC-designated Alberta sites: Cypress Hills (2004, shared with Saskatchewan), Beaver Hills (2006), Jasper National Park (2011), Wood Buffalo National Park (2013, shared with the Northwest Territories), and Lakeland Provincial Park (2016). These are designations, not lighting laws.

Certified dark sky places in Alberta

Bringing your own outdoor lighting up to the same standard? See Dark-Sky Friendly Outdoor Lighting.

Sources