The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Montréal (Grey Nuns) was founded in 1737 in Ville-Marie (Montréal) by Saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville, the young widow of François d'Youville, who formed a lay community that undertook charitable work. Ten years later the community took over the administration of Montréal's general hospital.

The first Grey Nuns arrived in present-day Alberta in 1859 when sisters Zoé Leblanc-Emery, Adèle Lamy and Marie Jacques-Alphonse joined Father Albert Lacombe, O.M.I., at Lac Ste. Anne. In 1861 the area of Saint-Albert was chosen as the site for a new mission by Father Lacombe and Bishop Alexandre Taché, O.M.I. Father Lacombe and 20 families arrived there in April. The Grey Nuns stayed at Lac Ste. Anne until 1863, at which time they joined Father Lacombe in Saint-Albert. The Grey Nuns would break new ground in health care, education and charitable services. In 1990 Saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville would become the first person born in Canada to be canonized.

The Sisters of Charity (Grey Nuns) of Alberta, also known as the Grey Nuns of Saint-Albert, are one of the five communities of the Sisters of Charity of Montréal (Grey Nuns). The Grey Nuns have managed their missions and institutions in western and northern Canada from their center in Saint-Albert for many years.

The Grey Nuns Regional Centre in Edmonton was built in 1967. It was the home base of the Grey Nuns serving in parts of western Canada and the Northwest Territories. It also housed the provincial administration and a residence for the elderly and retired Grey Nuns. The sisters sold it around 2005 and moved to Saint-Albert.