C-207 An Act to amend the Canada Pension Plan
Bill Type: Private Member’s
Bill Sponsor: Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona)
First Reading: June 10, 2025
This Bill is about the Canada Pension Plan. It would require any province that wants to leave CPP and create its own Pension Plan to get permission from at least two thirds of the other provinces first — a rule aimed directly at Alberta.
WHO GAINS POWER
- CPP provinces — gain a collective veto over any province attempting to withdraw from CPP and create its own Pension Plan
- CPP contributors — gain protection against benefit changes triggered by a province leaving the plan without broad consent
WHO LOSES POWER
- Individual provinces — lose the ability to withdraw from CPP unilaterally; must now secure consent from at least two thirds of CPP provinces representing two thirds of their combined population
- Alberta specifically — this Bill is a direct response to Alberta's stated interest in creating its own Pension Plan
WHO GAINS MONEY
- Current CPP contributors in remaining provinces — protected from benefit disruption if a province exits
- Retirees and near-retirees — reduced risk of CPP instability from a large province withdrawing
WHO LOSES MONEY
- Provinces seeking to exit CPP — face a much higher political and procedural bar to leave
- Workers in a province that wants its own plan — may lose the option of a provincially tailored pension
THE CATCH
- This Bill targets Alberta without naming it — the two thirds consent threshold is specifically designed to block a single large province from exiting alone
- Only CPP provinces vote — Quebec already has its own plan and does not participate in this consent process
- Comes into force 180 days after Royal Assent — a built-in delay before the new rules apply
Source: https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/bill/C-207/first-reading