Alberta's government is charting a new course in its approach to addiction, announcing the planned closure of the supervised drug consumption site at Calgary's Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre. The move signals a significant policy shift from harm reduction toward a provincially funded recovery-oriented system.
A New Direction for Alberta's Addiction Strategy
For years, residents and businesses near the Chumir centre have voiced growing concerns about the site's impact on the community and the ongoing cycle of addiction for its clients. Alberta's Mental Health and Addiction Minister, Rick Wilson, argues that while consumption sites were conceived as temporary measures, they have failed to demonstrate meaningful improvements in user mortality or reductions in emergency service calls without concurrent recovery pathways.
The province contends that these facilities drain resources that could be better spent on treatment. In the current fiscal year, nearly $16 million was allocated to drug consumption services. This includes over $2 million annually to operate the now-closed site at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital, which served an average of only about 22 individuals per month.
The Alberta Recovery Model in Action
The decision to close the Calgary site follows similar actions in Red Deer and at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Minister Wilson states the timing is now right due to the establishment of the Alberta Recovery Model, a comprehensive network of addiction services built over the past six years.
This model prioritizes long-term wellness and offers several key programs:
- The Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP): Provides same-day access to addiction medicine and ongoing case management, having assisted more than 17,000 Albertans since its launch.
- The Digital Overdose Response System: A confidential mobile app that connects people using substances alone to emergency responders.
- The Calgary Navigation Centre: Opened in mid-2024, it offers medical triage, housing support, and addiction treatment, creating a single entry point to recovery services.
- The Calgary Recovery Community: Opened in the summer of 2025, this facility provides comprehensive, long-term support for up to 300 people annually on their recovery journey.
Investing in Recovery Infrastructure
The Calgary Recovery Community is the fourth such facility to open in Alberta, with seven more planned across the province by 2027. The government's approach involves working with municipal partners and agencies to ensure treatment supports are in place as consumption sites transition.
This pivot represents a fundamental philosophical shift in Alberta's handling of the addiction crisis. The government's stance is that funding and policy must actively promote recovery and treatment on demand, rather than maintaining services it views as enabling ongoing addiction without a clear exit path toward health and stability.
