Plans to celebrate Canada’s 100th birthday in 1967 had been percolating since 1959, when the federal government announced that grants would be available to each province to mark the occasion.

The Branch began to accept records from government and private sources in 1963, and a year later in 1964, major acquisitions - such as the Harry Pollard photographic collection - were made by the newly established Archives.

The Provincial Museum and Archives officially opened their new building in Glenora, constructed under the Confederation Memorial Grants program, on December 6, 1967.

In October 2003, the Archives officially opened the doors to its new location, an impressive 11,000 square metre building situated on a six hectare (14.8 acre) site in southeast Edmonton on Roper Road.

Funding for the construction of the new building was made possible through grants from the Alberta Centennial Legacy Project Program.