@mugwumpr it was actually the simplest of things that I totally overlooked…
1: Zone region: Canada – local pickup included all of Canada which means it included Alberta and was overriding that setting.
I had to enter all provinces separately excluding Alberta and then I had to set that zone to “No shipping methods offered to this zone.” to make it default to the Canada Post shipping method (otherwise the only options are free shipping, flat rate and local pickup).
Good luck!