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Drugs and addiction: where each party stands

Involuntary care in BC is admission and treatment under the Mental Health Act. Decriminalization was a federal exemption that expired on January 31, 2026, and prescribed safer supply is now the prescribed alternatives program.

Party sites checked October 6, 2026

Each party on drugs and addiction

The terms in plain words

What involuntary care is

  • The Province’s releases call it involuntary care under the Mental Health Act; the Act’s own heading is “Involuntary admissions”. The director of a designated facility may admit and detain a person for up to 48 hours on one medical certificate. Section 22
  • The certificate must say the person has a mental disorder, requires treatment in or through a designated facility, requires care, supervision and control to prevent substantial deterioration or to protect them or others, and cannot suitably be admitted as a voluntary patient. Section 22
  • A second certificate allows detention past 48 hours, for one month, renewable for one month, then 3 months, then 6 months at a time. Sections 22, 23 and 24
  • A 2025 law, Bill 32, removed the Act’s provision that deemed patients to have consented to treatment the director had authorized and extended liability protection to providers of authorized professional services, care and treatment. Section 31; Section 16; Mental Health Act, RSBC 1996, c. 288
  • The Act defines a “person with a mental disorder” as a person who has a disorder of the mind that requires treatment and seriously impairs the person’s ability to react appropriately to the person’s environment or to associate with others. Mental Health Act, RSBC 1996, c. 288, s. 1
  • Provincial guidance to physicians says a person who keeps using a substance despite its direct negative consequences should not be involuntarily admitted or treated under the Act in the absence of a mental impairment. Guidance of March 12, 2025, updated February 25, 2026
Read the Mental Health Act at BC Laws

What decriminalization was

The province’s final report to Health Canada (PDF)

What prescribed alternatives are

Prescribed alternatives at gov.bc.ca

Deaths, services and funding

Suspected unregulated drug deaths, June 2026 About 4.6 deaths per day; preliminary
138 Unregulated Drug Deaths dashboard, last refreshed 11 Aug 2026
Unregulated drug deaths, 2026 to June 30 Six months; preliminary
776 Unregulated Drug Deaths dashboard, data to Jun 30, 2026
Unregulated drug deaths, 2025 Preliminary; BC Coroners Service
1828 Unregulated Drug Deaths dashboard, data to June 30, 2026
Where deaths occurred, 2026 53% in private residences, 28% in other inside residences; 18% outside
81% inside Unregulated Drug Deaths dashboard, data to end of Jun 2026
Visits to overdose prevention and supervised consumption sites For observed consumption, January 2026
81,416 Decriminalization Data Report to Health Canada, May 2026, p. 12
New funding for mental health and addictions treatment Includes involuntary treatment beds in Prince George, Maple Ridge and Surrey
$131 million Budget and Fiscal Plan 2026/27 to 2028/29, p. 10 The same document’s Investments in Health Care topic box prints “more than $131 million over three years”.
Treatment and recovery beds with funding in Budget 2026 Funding continued from previous investments
3,785 Budget and Fiscal Plan 2026/27 to 2028/29, p. 10

The tables

Unregulated drug deaths by year. Numbers are preliminary and subject to change
YearUnregulated drug deaths
2015528
2016997
20171494
20181566
2019992
20201774
20212291
20222382
20232591
20242319
20251828
2026, to June 30776

Source: BC Coroners Service, Unregulated Drug Deaths dashboard (data to June 30, 2026).

Recorded votes

  1. Third reading of Bill 34, Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act: passed, 77 to 4

    77 for 4 against 6 did not vote

    Votes and Proceedings

  2. Introduction and first reading of Bill M 215, Ending Decriminalization Act: passed, 80 to 0

    80 for first reading 0 against first reading 7 did not vote

    Votes and Proceedings

  3. Second reading of Bill 32, Mental Health Amendment Act (No. 2), 2025: passed, 46 to 46. The vote was tied and the Speaker’s casting vote was in favour.

    46 for 46 against 1 did not vote

    How every MLA voted Votes and Proceedings

  4. Third reading of Bill 32, Mental Health Amendment Act (No. 2), 2025: passed, 45 to 41. Royal Assent December 3, 2025.

    45 for 41 against 7 did not vote

    How every MLA voted Votes and Proceedings

  5. Introduction and first reading of Bill M 235, Drug Recovery and Community Safety Act: passed, 84 to 2. It did not become law.

    84 for first reading 2 against first reading 7 did not vote

    How every MLA voted Votes and Proceedings

Government announcements

  1. The Province announces involuntary care beds at Surrey Pretrial Services Centre: ten beds in a designated mental-health unit for men in provincial custody who meet the criteria under the Mental Health Act.

    News release, April 24, 2025

  2. The Province announces 18 involuntary care beds at Alouette Homes in Maple Ridge, a designated mental-health facility.

    News release, June 3, 2025

  3. The Minister of Health states that BC will not ask the federal government to renew the decriminalization exemption.

    Minister’s statement, January 14, 2026

Other recorded votes on drugs and addiction

Keep comparing

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Each party’s page, at drugs and addiction

Sources