Poundmaker’s Lodge and Treatment Centre’s provincial funding for its daytime addictions and recovery program has been discontinued.
In a gathering on Sept 28, Executive director Brad Cardinal said the centre reached out to the minister of Indigenous relations, the minister responsible for addiction and mental health, and Recovery Alberta.
The final reply indicated no further funding would be provided and that officials would consult stakeholders at a later date. The day program previously received about $600,000 in government support.
Poundmakers Lodge says that its flexible format let people access culturally grounded services without entering a longer residential program or taking extended time away from daily responsibilities.
Former participant Anne Green described the value of that option: the program gave people a way to take a first step by committing to three weeks of support when full residential treatment was not possible.
In a statement, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction said the province continues to provide $6.8 million annually to Poundmaker’s Lodge. It added that a 2025 fire at the facility led to the temporary reallocation of day-program funds to assist clients who had been displaced.
According to the lodge, 143 people remain on the waitlist for the day program.
The province described the funding shift as an interim step until the residential bed-based program could resume operations, which occurred in March.
