The College is not involved in the following provincial or federal awards,
but provides the information as a courtesy to anyone
wishing to apply or nominate a practitioner.

Provincial and Federal Awards

The Alberta Government and the Governor General of Canada recognize emergency medical service professionals annually. These are external awards and nominations are reviewed by an external committee.

The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Exemplary Service Medal was created by the Governor General of Canada in 1994 to recognize professionals in the provision of prehospital emergency medical services who have committed 20, 30 and 40 years of exemplary service. Service Bars are awarded to Medal recipients for each additional 10-year period.

To be eligible for the EMS Exemplary Service Medal practitioners must have been employed with emergency medical services on or after October 31, 1991, and have completed 20 years of service, including 10 years performing duties involving potential risk.

The annual nomination deadline is November 30th.

How to nominate someone:

Emergency Medical Services Exemplary Service Medal recipients are nominated by a peer.

More information is available on the Alberta EMS Awards Committee website and the Governor General of Canada’s website at www.gg.ca.

Recipients can found on the Governor General of Canada’s website at www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients.

The Alberta Emergency Services Medal and Services Bar were initiated by the Alberta Government to recognize emergency medical services personnel who have committed 12 years (medal) of service, as well as, 22 years (bronze bar), 32 years (silver bar) and 40 years (gold bar).

To be eligible for the Alberta Emergency Services Medal and Services Bar, practitioners must have been serving on or after January 1, 2000, in a sector of the Alberta emergency management system. Personnel must have undertaken all required phases of training and duty prescribed by their respective municipalities and ministries and must be certified by their administrative authority as efficient and in every way deserving of the award.

How to nominate someone:

  • Download or view the Alberta Emergency Services Medal and Services Bar nomination forms here.
  • Email the completed form to firecomm@gov.ab.ca and it will be directed to the EMS Awards Committee for review.

Need more information?

More information is available about the Alberta Emergency Services Medal and Services Bar on the Government of Alberta’s website.

First responder grants

The Alberta Government is offering grants for services and applied research.

Apply for funding to provide or improve services for first responders living with or at risk for post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSI).

Alberta’s paramedics, firefighters, police officers, sheriffs, corrections officers and emergency workers often deal with stressful, dangerous and traumatic situations. This stress has a negative impact on first responders and emergency workers. They experience post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSI) at significantly higher rates than the general population.

For this program’s purposes, “emergency workers” are those who encounter serious, unexpected and often dangerous situations requiring immediate action as part of their jobs.

The Supporting Psychological Health in First Responders (SPHIFR) grant program has 2 separate funding streams:

  • Stream 1 (Services) provides funding for non-profit organizations that provide services to first responders and emergency workers living with or at risk for PTSI.
  • Stream 2 (Research) provides funding to researchers engaged in applied research that generates evidence on prevention or intervention for first responders and emergency workers living with or at risk for PTSI.

Download and complete the grant application form.

Deadline for 2024-25 grant applications – May 27, 2024.

Visit the Alberta Government’s website for more information First responders’ mental health grants | Alberta.ca.