B.C. to create another 132 involuntary care beds for severe mental health disorders

B.C. Premier David Eby speaks to the media at a meeting of western premiers in Kananaskis, Alta., Monday, May 25, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

PRINCE GEORGE — British Columbia government is adding 132 more involuntary care beds for those in the province with complex mental health needs, addictions and brain injuries.

The government says a 72-bed treatment centre in Prince George will replace the former youth corrections facility, while a site in Surrey will be renovated to provide 60 more mental health treatment beds.

Premier David Eby made the announcement in Prince George today, saying that no one should be left on the streets when they are at their most vulnerable and helping these people will build safer communities.

The beds add to the more than 2,000 existing mental health beds already in place for those admitted involuntarily, including at Surrey’s pretrial centre.

The government says work is underway to assess future bed capacity in other regions of the province.

Dr. Daniel Vigo, the province’s chief scientific adviser, says the vision behind Friday’s announcement is to turn northern B.C. from one of the most underserved areas into a fully integrated model of mental health and substance-abuse services.

He says Friday’s announcement came together very quickly and is part and parcel of a significant shift in B.C.’s response to the opioid crisis.

Vigo says during the past two years, government has re-emphasized evidence-based treatment and recovery, while restoring the ability of doctors to use the Mental Health Act to treat children and adults with substance-use disorders, when they are mentally impaired.

The academic, who also teaches at the University of British Columbia, says government has discontinued failed approaches and the results are showing.

“I want to say, that the main thing we know now, is that finally the tide is turning on the public emergency provoked by synthetic drugs,” he says.

On Thursday, B.C. announced its lowest monthly number of suspected toxic drug deaths since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, falling by more than half since their peak.

The Ministry of Public Safety’s preliminary data showed 109 people died in B.C. in May due to suspected unregulated drug toxicity.

That is the lowest level seen since February 2020, when 79 deaths were reported, and is down by about 55 per cent compared to the 242 deaths recorded in December 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2026.