The Addiction Crisis in Calgary

Calgary is experiencing a complex and evolving drug poisoning crisis. The Chumir Health Centre (Safeworks), Calgary's only supervised consumption site, closed on June 30, 2026, raising serious public health concerns about overdoses moving to the streets. From December 2025 to April 2026, EMS responded to 814 opioid-related events in Calgary — nearly double the number from the same period the previous year. Front-line agencies are also reporting a wider, more unpredictable mix of substances in Calgary's illicit drug supply, with fentanyl combined with other potent opioids and tranquilizers. Calgary recorded approximately 79 opioid poisoning deaths in the first five months of 2024, a notable decline from 2023's record-high levels, but the 2026 EMS spike signals a potential reversal of that trend.

Canada recorded approximately 7,560 apparent opioid toxicity deaths in 2023 (PHAC), making it one of the worst years nationally. The trend showed some improvement in 2024 (a 17% decrease nationally) and further in 2025 (a 23% decrease, to approximately 5,630 deaths), driven partly by reduced carfentanil prevalence in western provinces. However, Alberta's early 2025 carfentanil resurgence and Calgary's 2026 EMS spike suggest the national improvement may not hold uniformly. Alberta has consistently had among the highest per-capita opioid death rates of any Canadian province.

01. What is happening in Calgary

02. A crisis that did not start this month

Alberta recorded 1,867 opioid-related deaths in 2023 — the deadliest year on record, averaging more than four deaths every single day. Approximately 1,189 people died from opioids in 2024, reflecting a significant decline driven partly by reduced carfentanil prevalence (carfentanil was involved in about 16% of Alberta opioid deaths in 2024, down from 23% in 2023). However, by early 2025, carfentanil re-emerged sharply, accounting for 68% of opioid deaths in Alberta from January to May 2025. The Alberta government's "Recovery Model" has shifted focus from harm reduction (closing supervised consumption sites) toward treatment and recovery communities, including the Calgary Recovery Community that opened in August 2025 and a planned 150-bed Compassionate Intervention Centre for Calgary beginning construction in 2026.

03. Why is it getting worse?

Key drivers of Calgary's overdose crisis include: (1) a highly toxic and unpredictable illicit drug supply dominated by fentanyl, with carfentanil surging back to 68% of Alberta opioid deaths by early 2025; (2) a widening cocktail of mixed substances (opioids, benzodiazepines, and tranquilizers combined) making overdoses harder to reverse with naloxone alone; (3) the closure of Calgary's only supervised consumption site (Chumir/Safeworks) in June 2026, which had reversed over 8,000 overdoses since 2017 with zero on-site deaths; (4) high vulnerability among unhoused populations — Calgary's homeless community faces up to 1,000 times higher overdose death risk than housed residents; (5) a provincial policy shift from harm reduction toward abstinence-based recovery that has reduced front-line capacity; and (6) a male-skewed demographic (71% of EMS opioid responses) concentrated in the 30–39 age group, suggesting the crisis is hitting working-age adults hardest.

04. Where hope still lives

Communities across Alberta are responding with naloxone distribution, harm reduction programs, and peer support networks. Every person trained in naloxone use is a potential life saved.

05. In the news

The reporting behind this page:

• Alberta government to close Calgary's sole supervised consumption site in 2026CBC News · 2025
• Wider mix of substances being discovered in Calgary drug supply, agencies see overdose spikeCBC News · 2026
• Closing drug consumption site will move overdoses onto Calgary streets, health experts fearCBC News · 2025
• In Alberta, 2023 was officially the deadliest year from opioid overdoses on recordCBC News · 2024
• Year-over-year opioid overdose deaths in Alberta drop by 55%, latest numbers showCBC News · 2024
• Alberta opioid data shows drop in deaths, overdoses — but some are dying more than othersGlobal News · 2025