In Alberta, the Punks Are Taking Over

In the years since Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and her United Conservative Party were elected in 2022, the political landscape in the province has been falling further into the realm of the far right. Smith famously attempted to attend U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony in January, and her leadership has been critiqued for making Alberta the measles capital of North America. Smith and the UCP have also been taking more conservative approaches to addressing the toxic drug crisis over the years, placing an emphasis on abstinence-based treatment over other measures like harm reduction.

From refusing to implement safe supply programs to its proposed Compassionate Intervention Act, the UCP has done lots to foster concern, and Alberta’s punk and hardcore scene has grown in response. Punk and hardcore is a creative scene that incorporates zines, music and unwavering self-expression for those who want change in society. And while punks can range politically from the far right to the far left, in Alberta, there’s a stark leaning to the left.

People who are part of the punk and hardcore community in Alberta are generally people on the fringes of society, those in underrepresented groups and those affected directly by social policy. They care about social justice, and they express their views through music, zines and DIY gatherings.

Across Alberta, they’re organizing events to raise money for and make space for those the UCP have left behind.

As of July 2025, there were 8,034 opioid deaths in Alberta between 2019 and 2024, and it’s reported that the province's statistics can be inaccurate due to backlogging, meaning the number is likely an undercount.

In a February 2025 news article, the Ministry of Health told Local Journalism Initiative reporter Angela Amato that harm reduction measures prevented 54,700 deaths between January 2019 and October 2024.

Hardcore harm reduction

To make up for the lack of support for harm reduction by the UCP, groups like Edmonton’s 4B Harm Reduction Society, or 4BHRS, which has a place in the punk and hardcore scene, and harm reduction punk group Street Cats in Calgary, have been mobilizing to help those who need it.

To raise funds for 4BHRS, punk and hardcore bands from all over Alberta recently came together for a charity event called the Wildrose Castle Jam.

The Wildrose Castle Jam had seven bands playing sets in the bowl of Castle Downs Skatepark in Edmonton, raising $700. The bands all used their platforms before their set to speak to political issues like Trump’s war on undocumented people. One band’s lead said “No one is illegal on stolen land.” Another singer said “No one deserves to die alone,” referring to street-involved drug users who aren’t accessing frontline care to reverse overdoses, like Naloxone. They also expressed their support for 4BHRS and harm reduction in general. Street Cats has held similar events.

Members of the punk and hardcore community have also been vocal about their critiques of Bill 53, Alberta’s proposed Compassionate Intervention Act, which would allow for the forced, involuntary rehabilitation of people who use drugs.

4BHRS, Street Cats and local punk and hardcore bands have been protesting the bill, claiming it isn’t supported by research and doesn’t make sense when many people who are currently trying to get care die before they get it. They say it removes bodily autonomy from drug users.

In Calgary, members of the riot grrrl hardcore band PERRA have been making zines and directly calling out the premier while touring the province.

Drug users and other marginalized people are often targeted by the far right, and the Alberta punk and hardcore scene seeks to be a safe place for them, explained PERRA’s vocalist Helen Arias.

She added that she thinks the rise in punk and hardcore’s prevalence in Alberta is to create a communal voice against the UCP.

People in the scene have been combatting the issues born of the UCP’s actions by “coming together to post fundraisers, speak on issues like harm reduction and take care of people that are living in the streets.”

For Arias, “The hardcore scene has a lot to do with choice. You can choose to claim edge or you could choose to do drugs, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with either. In the end, nobody deserves to die in the street.” Edge, or straight edge, is a subculture within hardcore and punk scenes that promote a sober lifestyle.

Arias says the scene’s larger presence in Calgary has grown exponentially over the last year. About a year ago, she said attendees at hardcore shows in Calgary were just the bands and their friends, and now, they’re big events with notably more people. And she says this is expanding to other cities in Alberta.

Arias said that after playing a show in Lethbridge, many attendees asked them to come back to help grow the scene there. And in Medicine Hat, there was a large display of anti-UCP sentiments and support for the scene.

Vocally engaging with the political issues of the day is a big part of what makes punk and hardcore special, Arias said. “It’s everything about hardcore, being able to say whatever you want and bring in everyone to express themselves.”

In what I’ve witnessed of punk and hardcore in Alberta, I’ve found that while people are driven to it now in response to their feelings of anger towards the UCP, there’s also a striking sense of tenderness and solidarity across the community.

In the mosh pits and at the many mutual aid events organized by the community, there’s a felt sense of care towards each other. As well an aura of mutual respect among all within the scene. A punk show is the only place I’ve seen someone get punched in the face and respond by shrugging it off with a smile to keep moshing.