Electronic Signatures: Alberta Is No Longer The Outlier

In an age of remote work with pressures to conduct all business electronically and improve efficiency, the use of electronic signatures ("e-signatures") has become increasingly essential.  Recent amendments to Alberta's Electronic Transactions Act General Regulation remove restrictions on employers' use of e-signatures.  Now, in every Canadian province and territory, e-signatures on employment contracts is permissible, subject to applicable consent, reliability, and accessibility requirements.

The issue of whether an e-signature of an employment contract is permissible and the legal force of electronic documents is a matter of provincial or territorial law, with the exception of employees employed in any federal work, undertakings or business, in which case the federal Personal information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA") or the federal subject matter specific legislation applies. The intention of provincial/territorial electronic commerce