In Alberta, child passenger safety is legally required. This guide clarifies Alberta’s minimum legal requirements, recommended time in each stage, fines, exemptions and checks for new or used car seats.
Our team reviewed Alberta’s occupant restraint laws and child car seat guidelines to write this article.
What Are The Car Seat Rules In Alberta?
Alberta recommends that a child use a rear-facing seat until they’re at least two and a booster seat until the seatbelt fits properly. Booster seats are not legally required. However, the driver must ensure any passenger under the age of six who weighs 18 kg (40 lb) or less is properly buckled into a properly installed child’s seat.
Anyone between the ages of six and 15 must wear a seatbelt that has been properly adjusted and buckled. This also applies to children under the age of six that are over 18 kg. Booster seats are still recommended but are optional. Breaking occupant-restraint legislation in Alberta carries a $211 fine.
| Situation | Alberta legal minimum | Safer practice |
|---|---|---|
| Younger than 6 and 18 kg or less | A properly installed child restraint is mandatory | Children should always ride in a car seat that corresponds to their stage of development, and within its size limits. Rear-facing car seats are recommended until at least age 2. |
| Younger than 6 and over 18 kg | A properly fastened seatbelt is mandatory | Use a forward-facing car seat until it is outgrown, then a booster seat until the vehicle’s regular belt fits your child correctly. |
| Age 6 to 15 | A properly fastened seatbelt is mandatory | Use a booster seat until the lap and shoulder belts fit them properly. |
| Under age 13 | No separate Alberta ban on the front seat | The back seat is the safer place |
Children’s Seat Stages In Alberta
These guidelines give an idea of which children’s car seat best fits your child for safety.
Check the height and weight limit on your car seat. Every car seat is different.
Stage One: Rear-Facing Car Seat
Use the rear-facing safety seat until your child is at least two years old, or until your child outgrows the seat’s height or weight limits. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for correct installation. Keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. Rear-facing keeps your child’s head, neck, and spine supported in a crash.
Never place a rear-facing safety seat in front of an active airbag.
Stage Two: Forward-Facing Car Seat
Once your child outgrows their rear-facing car seat, they should use a forward-facing car seat with a harness. Keep using the harness until your child reaches the height or weight limit for that seat, then move to the next stage when they are ready.
Do not change seats simply because your child exceeds Alberta’s legal requirement of 18 kg.
Stage Three: Booster Seat
Although Alberta does not require it by law, we recommend that children continue using booster seats. Use the booster until the child can wear the seat belt properly and can maintain the position for the duration of the trip, then move to seat belt use alone.
When Can A Child Wear Seat Belts Without Booster Seats?
Your child is ready to graduate from booster seat use if they:
- Sit back against the vehicle’s seat with knees bent at the edge of the vehicle seat
- Has a seat belt that fits as follows: Shoulder belt lies across the chest between shoulder and neck; lap belt lies low on hips, not the stomach.
- Can sit like this for the entire trip without slouching and keeps the seat belt on their shoulder and hips.
Read More: Read About Seat-Belt Non-Use in Fatal Canadian Collisions
Which Vehicles And Passengers Are Exempt?
Alberta exempts taxis, emergency vehicles, and vehicles rented or leased for 14 days or less (consecutively) from child-restraint rules. Rideshare vehicles are not taxis; travel with an age- and size-appropriate seat.
Other exemptions apply to vehicles originally built without seatbelts, vehicles making deliveries while being driven at 40 km/h or less, parades approved by the municipality, and people with a valid medical exemption letter. Being exempt from the rules doesn’t make going without a restraint safer; it just means you are exempt.
How To Choose A Child Safety Seat
Before you choose a child safety seat:
- Make sure the child’s height and weight fall within the child safety seat’s use specifications.
- Make sure it meets Canadian safety requirements, as it must have a National Safety Mark on it.
- Make sure you can install it correctly, easily, and conveniently in your vehicle. Check both the child safety seat’s instructions and your vehicle’s owner’s manual to be sure they are compatible.
- Check the child safety seat’s manufacture date, model number and expiry or useful-life information. Transport Canada posts any safety notices (including recall information) by model number. Make sure all parts and instructions are included. Find out what to do with a child safety seat after its expiry or useful-life date. Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines regarding use after a crash.
- Register your child safety seat with the manufacturer so you will receive safety notices.
Once it’s installed, double-check the following:
- Follow all of the manufacturer’s instructions.
- There should be less than 2.5 cm of movement in any direction, according to Alberta guidelines.
- The harness should be adjusted to the child’s height and snug enough that you cannot pinch any webbing at the child’s shoulder. The chest clip should be at armpit level per Alberta guidelines.
When Can A Child Sit In The Front Seat In Alberta?
In Alberta, there are no different age, height, or weight requirements to sit in the front passenger seat. It is recommended that children ride in the back seat until at least 13.
Follow all other directions for airbags/restraints if sitting in the front seat as outlined in your vehicle/car seat manual. Move front seats back if possible. Never use a rear-facing car seat in front of an active airbag.
Read More: Compare Ontario’s Front-Seat Guidance for Children