Opioid deaths were down 22 per cent from a year ago. But the crisis remains severe, with an average of 17 deaths a day.
So experts are concerned that Ottawa’s approach to drug policy seems to be on autopilot.
The 2025 federal budget committed no new dollars to overdose prevention, drug treatment or mental health supports. Its key drug-related investments were in law enforcement and border security.
“Budget 2025 lands somewhere between continuity and a lack of real direction,” said political strategist Jordan Paquet, a former senior advisor in the Harper government.
“In the middle of a national overdose crisis, simply carrying forward old funding doesn’t demonstrate leadership.”
No new funding
Health Canada confirmed to Canadian Affairs that the Carney government is largely maintaining the federal drug policy framework set out in Budget 2023, with no major new strategic shifts to date.
The Trudeau government had previously committed $360 million over five years to implement the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, which prioritizes addiction treatment and harm reduction, law enforcement, drug prevention and research. The Carney government has renewed this strategy.
Health Canada also confirmed Ottawa has ended its funding for 31 safer supply pilots and has no plans to renew them. Safer supply programs dispense pharmaceutical opioids as a replacement for toxic street drugs.
Paquet and others say they would like to see long-term, health-focused drug prevention and treatment programs, rather than pilot-based initiatives.
“Canadians aren’t seeing a clear recovery-focused plan,” he said.
Ottawa’s Emergency Treatment Fund, which supports short-term community overdose response and treatment initiatives, has only half the funds it needs to operate for 2026‑27. Federal funding for supervised drug consumption sites is also limited.
Paquet says the budget most misses the mark on treatment.
“Harm reduction has a role, but it must be a bridge into treatment, not a long-term substitute for it,” he said. “Treatment and recovery services are still nowhere near the scale required.”
Nick Boyce, policy director at the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition advocacy organization, echoed these concerns. He calls the federal pullback from health-focused programs a missed opportunity to prevent deaths.
“We’re not seeing them take true leadership,” he said. “What we’re seeing … is more of the same failed policies.”
Ottawa’s commitment to drug prevention primarily relies on youth-focused initiatives such as the Icelandic Prevention Model. Experts previously told Canadian Affairs this model is not sufficiently adapted to Canada’s opioid and mental health challenges.
Crackdown
The budget’s key drug-related investments were in law enforcement and security.
The budget delivered on the Liberal campaign promises to expand Canada Border Services Agency staffing and invest in new scanners, drones and K‑9 teams. It also increased funding to prosecute drug trafficking charges.
Early results suggest these investments are producing tangible outcomes. A multi-jurisdictional RCMP operation between May and October led to the seizure of nearly 400 kilograms of fentanyl and more than 8,000 arrests.
Paquet says these efforts are important.
“We absolutely need stronger border measures and better enforcement,” he said. “No serious drug strategy can ignore the supply side of the problem.”
But Boyce says an emphasis on enforcement destabilizes the drug supply without reducing demand.
“All these drug interdiction efforts actually cause more harm than they solve,” he said. “When a police service takes a batch of drugs off the street … something else comes in, or a person who uses drugs has to find a new supplier. Suddenly we get new drugs on the streets.”
Boyce also stressed the opportunity costs of investing in enforcement. “Every dollar we spend on enforcement is $1 we’re not spending on housing, child care or addiction treatment,” he said.
The Canadian Drug Policy Coalition said in a statement that the budget’s focus on U.S.-style militarized enforcement at the expense of health and social supports reflects political appeasement of the U.S. rather than effective drug policy.
In Paquet’s view, enforcement must be paired with a robust treatment and recovery system.
“Stopping the flow of illegal drugs like fentanyl is crucial, but enforcement alone cannot solve this crisis,” he said.
