Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, together with Mental Health and Addiction Minister Dan Williams, officially announced the opening of the Lakeview Recovery Community today. The newly established 75-bed facility in Lac Ste. Anne, stands as a pivotal component in the province’s comprehensive approach to addressing addiction.
The Lakeview Recovery Community is the third of 11 planned recovery centres under Alberta’s expanding mental health and addiction strategy. The facility, situated on Treaty 6 territory, aims to offer men struggling with addiction a safe haven where they can rebuild their lives. Residents can stay for up to a year, engaging in a comprehensive range of services designed to help them achieve sobriety and reintegrate into society.
Premier Smith emphasized that this initiative is part of a broader commitment to mental health and addiction services—a commitment that has seen Alberta move away from harm reduction strategies in favour of a recovery-oriented approach. “While other governments pursue more ways to make illegal drugs more accessible, we’re giving people the opportunity to turn their lives around,” Smith said. “Leaving people to suffer is unacceptable and cruel.”
The Lakeview Recovery Community will serve not only as a residential treatment facility but also as a provincial training hub for addiction recovery staff. The Recovery Training Institute of Alberta, housed within the community, will adopt a teaching hospital model to provide hands-on experience for students training in addiction treatment. This dual purpose ensures that the facility contributes to addressing both the immediate needs of those struggling with addiction and the broader shortage of trained professionals in the field.
“This is about giving Albertans the chance to heal and reclaim their lives by breaking free from addiction,” said Smith. The premier’s remarks were echoed by Minister Williams, who detailed how the Alberta Recovery Model—a holistic system of care that embraces prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery—will be implemented at Lakeview.
The opening of Lakeview Recovery Community also marks a new chapter for the site, which previously housed the Ed Mulla Centre, a well-known recreation facility. The centre was in dire need of renovations, and the decision was made to transform it into a state-of-the-art recovery community. With $21 million invested in renovations, the facility now stands as a testament to Alberta’s commitment to addressing the addiction crisis.
Minister Williams shared the story of a current resident who transitioned from a therapeutic living unit in a correctional facility to Lakeview. The resident is now one of the leading members of the community and hopes to eventually join the Recovery Training Institute. “This is a story of transformation,” Williams said. “It’s about restoring individuals to their families and communities.”
Despite the positive impact of these recovery communities, challenges remain. The demand for addiction treatment in Alberta is high, and waitlists can be long. Minister Williams acknowledged that wait times vary, with some individuals waiting as little as two weeks, while others may face longer delays depending on their circumstances and the specific facility they wish to attend.
However, both Premier Smith and Minister Williams stressed that the government is committed to expanding access to these essential services. With eight more recovery communities in various stages of planning and construction, including five in partnership with First Nations and Indigenous communities, Alberta is poised to continue its aggressive expansion of treatment options across the province.
As Alberta continues to expand its recovery model, the province is sending a clear message: addiction is a challenge that can be met with compassion, support, and a commitment to long-term recovery.