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       Albertans receive vaccines at a mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Calgary on April 22, 2021.

       Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

       Many Alberta postsecondary schools are not mandating COVID-19 vaccination for students and staff as requirements vary across the country.

       The University of Calgary, University of Alberta, Mount Royal University in Calgary, and the province’s two major technical schools say they will strongly encourage vaccination, but won’t go so far as to require it.

       A growing list of schools are doing the opposite – including major research institutions such as the University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, University of Saskatchewan and Western University.

       Some postsecondary schools continue to debate the issue and have yet to offer a firm position with only weeks left until the return of classes.

       University of Calgary professor Lorian Hardcastle, who specializes in health law and policy, says there is no clear legal barrier to introducing a mandate.

       She says she hopes a domino effect will happen in Western Canada, especially Alberta and British Columbia, as more universities come out in support of a two-jab rule.

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