A gay couple in Calgary was refused a marriage licence at the registry office, just days after Ottawa opened the doors to gay marriage in Canada.

Keith Purdy and Rick Kennedy were told the laws of Alberta don't allow for same-sex marriage.

"I'm disappointed, but it's nothing that we didn't expect," said Purdy.

Rick Kennedy and Keith Purdy

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced Tuesday Ottawa will draft legislation allowing same-sex couples to marry in Canada.

But Alberta Premier Ralph Klein says gay marriage won't happen in his province, and has threatened to use the Constitution's notwithstanding clause to block the new law.

Following their rejection from the registry office, Purdy and Kennedy went across the street to file a human rights complaint.

Purdy says they filed the complaint "to force the issue and force the province to talk about the issue and change the law."

But Klein has made it clear the law will not be changed in Alberta.

On Thursday, he reiterated the province's stance on gay marriage, which he says the caucus agreed on five years ago.

"We would do what we could possibly do to protect gays and lesbians short of recognizing and sanctifying marriage. That is the policy," he said.

Klein said he would take the issue back to caucus.