EDMONTON -- The UCP government is introducing a new bill that would allow Albertans check whether their partner has a history of domestic violence.

Bill 17, Disclosure to Protect Against Domestic Violence (Clare's Law) Act, gives people at risk of domestic violence the right to ask for information about their partner's abusive past.

"This legislation will be a critical new tool to help those at risk of experiencing domestic violence or facing abuse already by ensuring they have access to information about the violent history of their partners," Premier Jason Kenney said.

Alberta has the third-highest rate of domestic violence reported to police in Canada, the provincial government said.

"With this law, we're being given access to information that could have direct impacts on our lives," said Dianne Denovan, a domestic violence survivor, in a government news release.

Bill 17 was modeled after the United Kingdom's Clare's Law, named after a woman killed by an ex-boyfriend with an abusive past.

According to the province, half of domestic violence female victims in Canada were killed by someone with a prior conviction.

The act would also give police the power to disclose domestic abuse information to people in risk.