Provincial Tories are divided over a private member's bill -- one already vetted by the government caucus -- that would ramp up the amount of Canadian history taught in Alberta high schools.

The proposed legislation, which would require at least 75 per cent of social studies class time be dedicated to Canadian history, is also drawing fire from a Calgary teacher who's been working with the province on implementing new high school curriculum.

Calgary MLA Wayne Cao introduced the bill this week in the legislature and maintained Wednesday it's necessary to help teach Canadians about their country's origins, but Premier Ed Stelmach raised some concerns with its current form.