Drug consumption sites in Lethbridge and Calgary will close at the end of June as the province shifts toward recovery-focused addiction care.
Deputy Premier Mike Ellis said funding from the sites will be redirected to treatment, recovery and outreach supports.
“Addiction is a health-care issue that requires treatment and recovery-focused supports. A health system works best when it helps people heal and get well instead of leaving them in the cycle of crisis,” Ellis said. “We know recovery is possible, and people deserve real opportunities to heal and to rebuild their lives.”
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Rick Wilson said consumption sites were introduced as a temporary measure during the opioid crisis but are no longer the right approach.
“Keeping someone alive in the moment, that matters, but it cannot be where the journey ends. People need more than survival. They need hope. They need treatment, and they need a path to recovery,” Wilson said.
Ellis said since 2019 Alberta has increased publicly funded addiction treatment bed capacity by 55 per cent and is building 11 recovery communities, four of which are already open. Five Indigenous recovery communities are expected to open later this year, adding 375 beds.
He said opioid overdose deaths have declined about 39 per cent since a peak in 2023.
“Helping people inject drugs is not helping people. That’s putting poison into their arms. I want to get them into recovery communities.”
A rapid access addiction medicine clinic will be established in Lethbridge, along with 10 withdrawal management beds and a 24-7 outreach team based at the Lethbridge Wellness Shelter in partnership with the Blood Tribe Department of Health.
In Calgary, the province plans to expand rapid access addiction medicine, opioid dependency programs, medical detox capacity and downtown outreach teams operating 24-7.
Ellis said the province will keep supervised consumption sites open in other communities such as Grande Prairie for now, noting those systems have not yet evolved to match Calgary and Lethbridge’s recovery model.
“We’re going to keep working to get our recovery communities working and everything in place before we actually close those sites down… eventually we will get to them, but we’ve got more work to do first.”
He said the decision is based on evidence, citing a peer-reviewed study on Red Deer’s consumption site closure.
“It determined that deaths did not rise because it was closed. In fact, more people chose to go into recovery. That’s one of the tools in my toolbox for making decisions,” Ellis said.
Recovery Alberta chief executive officer Kerry Bales said the changes will expand access to treatment and connect more people to care.
“This transition from SCS to enhanced recovery-oriented programs will allow us to expand upon a suite of services that have already shown success in other parts of the province,” she said.
The province said the changes are aimed at reducing pressure on hospitals by connecting people to treatment earlier and reducing repeat emergency visits.
