The Alberta government is shuttering Lethbridge’s mobile overdose prevention site. Deputy Premier Mike Ellis, who also serves as Alberta’s minister of public safety and emergency services, says funding for the site will be re-invested into expanded addiction treatment and recovery supports, as well as 24-hour outreach teams to support those experiencing addiction. “In 2023, we had 117 overdose deaths in the Lethbridge-area and in 2025, it’s down to 11. That’s almost a 90 per cent drop so this shows us that the system is working,” Ellis said. The province said it will also be closing the Sheldon M. Chumir supervised consumption site in Calgary. The overdose prevention sites first opened in 2017 as a temporary support for the ongoing opioid and overdose crisis. “It was just a bridge to put in longer-term support to support people in a manner that can help facilitate the recovery,” said Recovery Alberta CEO Kerry Bales. Bales says the province has expanded its addiction supports, including treatment on demand services, medically supported detox, new medications, recovery communities and community-based supports, which has allowed them to move forward with the closures of the two sites. “When it comes to addiction, we know there is no easy solutions, nor no one-size fits all approach to treatment,” Bales said. “This transition from supervised consumption site to enhance recovery-oriented programs will allow us to expand upon a suite of services that have already show success in other parts of the province.” In Lethbridge, the Alberta government will use the existing funding to open a new rapid access addiction medicine clinic. That clinic will operate five days a week to provide same-day assessment, medication initiation and pathways to withdrawal management. Funding will also go towards 10 new medical withdrawal management beds and a 24-7 outreach recovery response team. Those services will be based at the Lethbridge Wellness Shelter and delivered in partnership with the Blood Tribe Department of Health. “We support the reinvestment toward recovery and outreach services at the Lethbridge Wellness Shelter and Stabilization Unit,” the Blood Tribe Department of Health said in a statement. “The transition away from the DCS sites will allow for the provision of a broader range of services to reduce harm and improve direct access to treatment for the people we serve.” In December, Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen penned a letter to the province, asking to wind down operations of the site due to the significant drop in overdose deaths in the city. Hyggen asked the province to re-allocate the funding to different support and outreach programs in Lethbridge to assist those experiencing addiction and homelessness. The Lethbridge mobile site has three consumption booths and operates daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Our government firmly believes that people struggling with addiction deserve dignity, care and a real chance to recovery, but not left to be cycling through the crisis,” said Rick Wilson, Alberta’s minister of mental health and addiction. Both sites will close on June 30. CTV News reached out to the City of Lethbridge for comment, which said the mayor would host a scheduled media availability on Monday.
