Grizzly bear mortality in Alberta has been primarily from licensed hunting, illegal kills, and self-defense kills (more common as humans encroach into bear territory). Alberta implemented a grizzly bear recovery program March 2008 to protect the threatened species.

Wildlife species status is reviewed every 5 years in Alberta with priority to 'at risk' species. Alberta's Endangered Species Conservation Committee (ESCC) will evaluate the status report, and grizzly bear status will be updated based on their recommendations. The national Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife (COSEWIC), lists the northwestern grizzly bear population in Alberta as Threatened.

In Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta the prairie grizzly bear population is listed as Extirpated (no longer exists in that region), and as a species of Special Concern across Canada. Grizzly bears are Threatened in the United States.