thats wrong...
I was in alberta last november, with an N license, rented a car without much issue.
I asked them about it when i was at the counter, they said it was fine, but did put a special note on my rental agreement that i had to have the N on the rental car at all times. Which was fine, since I had brought it along anyways as to not break my license restrictions. I actually made a post in this forum asking the same question before i went.
http://www.revscene.net/forums/n-sig....html?t=628794
edit: I hope it's a work trip though, the additional daily fee for being under 25 made my bill something like $600+ for 4 days.