from the faq section of the new Alberta builder licence program:
What if I want to build my own home? Do I need to get a licence?
Individuals building their own home do not need to get a licence. Individuals can build their own home once they have been issued an Owner Builder Authorization by the Registrar.
This is another example of the absurdity of the bureaucracy under which we all must function. If you want to build a house to live in for yourself, by yourself, you need the government to say it is ok, or you can’t get a building permit from any municipal authority without waiver of your builder licence. You'd also need to get a waiver to avoid having to pay the warranty fee to put a warranty on your own self built home, which it can also decline to provide. How long will it be before this government uses this power abusively and either requires cash payments to speed the process or decides the house you want to build is the the wrong place or won’t achieve the requirements of its agenda? Housing seems to be a constant target for government scope creep and bureaucratic fees. This same government will complain later when there is an affordability issue, and its response will be to further raise taxes on builders without examining its own role in adding fees and inefficiency to the industry.