The Department of Public Works was dissolved on June 25, 1975 when the Department of Public Works Act (R.S.A. 1970, c. 105) was repealed by the Department of Government Services Act (S.A. 1975, c. 11).

Functional Responsibility:
The Department of Public Works was responsible for the management, charge, and direction of construction, heating, lighting, furnishing, maintenance, and repair of all government buildings, and the control and management of the construction and maintenance of all public works.

In the enabling legislation, public works is defined as the property of the Crown and controlled by the department, and included all lands, streams, watercourses, and property acquired for public works; dams, hydraulic works, and other works for improving the navigation of any stream; dams, slides, piers, booms, or other works for facilitating the transmission of logs or timber; dams erected for the storage of water, water powers, and works connected therewith; all roads, of water, water powers, and works connected therewith, all roads, culverts, bridges, ditches, drains, public buildings, and wells.

Upon establishment, the department assumed responsibility for administration of the Coal Mines Act (S. A. 1906, c. 25) and the Steam Boilers Ordinance (C.O. 1898, c. 17). By 1908 the Coal Mines Branch and the Steam Boiler Branch were established within the Department of Public Works. The Mines Act (S.A. 1913, c. 4) repealed the Coal Mines Act and the Coal Mines Branch became known as the Mines Branch in 1914. In 1920 responsibility for administration of the Mines Act was transferred to the Provincial Secretary. The Steam Boilers Ordinance was repealed and replaced by the Steam Boilers Act (S.A. 1906, c. 23). By 1918 the Steam Boiler legislation had become the Boilers Act (S.A. 1918, c. 22). In 1922 the function of the Steam Boilers Branch became part of the Labour Bureau of the Department of Public Works and was referred to as Steam Boiler Inspection. In 1926 administration of the Boilers Act was transferred from the Minister of Public Works to the Executive Council.

In 1924 the Power Plants Branch was established within the Department of Public Works to centralize the supervision, operation, and maintenance of institutional power plants within the province. In 1936 administration of the Factories Act and the Boilers Act was transferred back to the jurisdiction of the Minister of Public Works and combined with Power Plants to establish the Mechanical Branch. Administration of the Boilers Act was transferred to the Department of Industries and Labour in 1953. The Mechanical Branch was renamed the Utilities Branch in 1966. In 1968 the functions under Utilities were merged with those of Maintenance Services to form the Physical Plant Division.

The year 1921 marked the appearance of the Bureau of Labour within the annual report for the Department of Public Works. By Order in Council 1962/22, the Labour Bureau was charged with administration of the following Acts: Alberta Government Employment Bureau Act (S.A. 1919, c. 14), An Act Respecting Employment Offices (S. A. 1919, c. 15), Minimum Wage Act (S.A. 1922, c. 81), Boilers Act (R.S.A. 1922, c. 191), and Factories Act (S.A. 1917, c. 20). The Bureau of Labour Act (S.A. 1922, c. 80) established the Bureau of Labour in 1922, giving the bureau a degree of independence. The Bureau of Labour was transferred from the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works to the Executive Council in 1926 (O.C. 1625/1926) and later transferred to the Department of Trade and Industry (O.C. 1307/1935).

The department experienced a huge increase in work during it first years due to the large influx of settlers and the need to house the new government. The Architectural Branch, added in 1907, producing drawings for work that had been started, for work yet to be started, and work to be tendered. In 1908 Building Construction replaced the Engineering Branch. In 1913 the Architectural Branch merged with Building Construction to form the Architectural and Building Construction Branch. The Architectural and Building Construction Branch was renamed the Architectural Branch in 1916. The Architectural Branch became known as the Architectural and Buildings Maintenance Branch in 1924 and in 1926 became the Buildings Maintenance Branch. The functions concerning architecture within the department continued but did not appear as a separate branch again until 1964.

Responsibility for construction and maintenance of provincial institutions appeared in the annual report of the Architectural Branch in 1916. In 1918 responsibility for administration of provincial institutions was transferred from the Provincial Secretary to the Minister of Public Works. The consent of the Minister of Public Works was necessary for the transfer of an individual to a hospital for the insane, as seen in of the Mental Defectives Act (S.A. 1919, c. 21). In 1919 reports for the institutions were published separately from those of the department. By 1922 the Minister of Public Works no longer administered asylums but continued to administer prisons; in 1948 this responsibility was transferred to the Department of the Attorney General.

The year 1908 marked the creation of the Telephone Branch when the department assumed responsibility for An Act Respecting Government Telephone and Telegraph Systems (S.A. 1908, c. 14). The Telephone Branch ceased operation in 1912 and was transferred to the Department of Railways and Telephones.

The Department of Public Works was responsible for administration of the Local Improvement Act (S.A. 1907, c. 11), which led to the establishment of the Local Improvement Branch. Administration of the Local Improvement Act was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Department of Municipal Affairs.

The Highways Branch first appears in the department's annual report for the year 1914. The Highways Branch amalgamated the functions of constructing, operating, and maintaining bridges, ferries, ordinary roads, and truck roads. In 1918 the Minister of Public Works assumed responsibility for the Public Highways Act (S.A. 1918, c. 14), which provided for a system of highways within the province. By 1951 the Highways Branch of the Department of Public Works had evolved to become the Highways Department.

In 1930 the Public Vehicle Operation section was created in the Department of Public Works to administer the Public Vehicles Act, 1927 (S.A. 1927, c. 63). The Public Vehicles Act enabled the provincial government to licence and regulate public vehicles on the highways. Public Vehicle Operation was replaced by the Highway Traffic Control Board with the proclamation of the Public Service Vehicles Act (S.A. 1936, c. 91). Responsibility for the Traffic Control Board was transferred to the Department of Highways in 1951.

The Good Roads Board of Alberta was established in 1924 to improve the development of a highway system within the province (S.A. 1922, c. 79). The board considered reports of the Highway Commissioner in the determination of a classified system of public highways and methods of road construction and maintenance. The board allocated funds for highways and roads when authorized to do so and made rules for use of highways. It also collected and made public information available concerning road building and maintenance. The Good Roads Board was dissolved in 1925. In 1929 the Good Roads Board of Alberta was repealed and the District Highways Board was established in the Public Highways Act, 1929 (S.A. 1929, c. 53). The District Highways Board continued to consider and determine a classification system of district highways for the province and determine the basis for allocation of funds for district highways and roads when authorized to do so. The District Highways Board was transferred to the Department of Highways in 1951.

The Minister of Public Works began to administer the function of providing for drainage when the Drainage Ordinance (C.O. 1903, c. 6) of the North-West Territories was continued in the new province. The Alberta Drainage Act (S.A. 1908, c. 18) repealed the Drainage Ordinance. The Minister of Public Works continued to have responsibility for providing and maintaining drainage mechanisms within the province. By 1917 the Department of Public Works had established the Drainage Branch.

In 1920 the Irrigation Districts Act, 1920 (S.A. 1920, c. 14) named the Minister of Public Works as the minister responsible for administration of the legislation. The Drainage Branch then became the Drainage and Irrigation Branch. The Drainage Districts Act, 1921 (S.A. 1921, c. 57) was similar to the Irrigation Districts Act, 1920 in that it provided for the election of a board of trustees for each district which controlled the affairs under the supervision of a Drainage Council. Although the Minister of Public Works was responsible for administration of the new legislation, supervision of the district boards was delegated by statute to the councils. The function of the Irrigation Council and Drainage Council was to advise, monitor, and regulate the district boards. Administration of the Drainage Districts Act was transferred to the Department of Railways and Telephones by an amendment to the enabling legislation (S.A. 1922, c. 85). In 1968 administration of the Irrigation Districts Act and Drainage Districts Act was transferred to the Minister of Agriculture.

Predecessor and Successor Bodies:
A government-wide reorganization lead to the Department of Public Works being divided into two successor bodies, the Department of Housing and Public Works and the Department of Government Services. The Design and Construction Division, Realty Division, the Planning Division, and elements of Finance and Administration from the Department of Public Works were merged with housing functions from the Department of Municipal Affairs to form the Department of Housing and Public Works. Alberta Government Services was responsible for the elements of the former Public Works Department concerned with operation and maintenance. In 1982, the Department of Government Services merged with the functions of public works from the Department of Housing and Public Works to form the Department of Public Works, Supply, and Services.

Administrative Relationships:
The Minister of Public Works was a member of the Executive Council appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to head the department. The minister reported to the Legislative Assembly for the Department of Public Works and submitted reports received from other agencies, boards, councils, and institutes that reported to the Minister of Public Works.

Administrative Structure:
The Department of Public Works maintained a hierarchical structure throughout its existence. At the inception of the Department of Public Works in 1905 it consisted of five branches: Correspondence, Accountants, Surveys, Engineering, and Local Improvement. The department evolved to include branches and sections related to the creation, operation, regulation, and maintenance of highway systems, mining, and employment. In 1951, legislation reorganized the Department of Public Works into two branches: Buildings and Mechanical. In 1960 the Department of Public Works was reorganized once again into six divisions: Architecture, Works and Maintenance, Construction, Maintenance, Mechanical, and Administrative Accounting. The department was reorganized again in 1966, leaving the administrative functions as branches outside of the three main divisions: Utilities Services, Design and Construction, and Maintenance Services. By 1975, before the dissolution of the department, there were five major divisions: Design and Construction, Finance and Administration, Physical Plant, Planning, and Realty.

Names of Chief Officers:
Ministers of Public Works
William Henry Cushing 1905-1910
Arthur Lewis Sifton 1910-1912
Charles Richmond Mitchell 1912-1913
Archibald J. McLean 1917-1921
Alexander Ross 1921-1925
Oran Leo McPherson 1925-1934
Richard Gavin Reid 1934-1934
John James MacLellan 1934-1935
William Allen Fallow 1935-1948
Duncan Bruce MacMillan 1948-1952
Alfred John Hooke 1952-1955
James Hartley 1955-1962
Frederick Charles Colborne 1962-1969
Albert W. Ludwig 1969-1971
Winston Osler Backus 1971-1975