Home / Health / B.C. Extends Funding for Safer Supply Programs After Federal Cuts
B.C. Extends Funding for Safer Supply Programs After Federal Cuts
31 Jul
Summary
- B.C. government steps in to fund 5 safer supply programs after federal funding ends
- Concerns over diversion of prescribed alternatives like hydromorphone to illegal market
- B.C. shifts to witnessed consumption model to ensure medications are used as intended
As of July 2025, the B.C. government has stepped in to provide funding for five safer supply programs that were previously supported by the federal government. This comes after the federal Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP) funding for these pilot projects ended on March 31, 2025.
Between 2017 and March 2025, Health Canada had provided $126 million through SUAP to fund 31 such projects across the country, designed to evaluate approaches for providing "prescribed alternatives" in response to the toxic drug and overdose crisis. However, the federal funding for these initiatives has now concluded.
The B.C. Ministry of Health has since allocated funding to keep five of these programs operational for an additional year, until March 2026. These include the Vancouver Coastal Health's SAFER Initiative, Kilala Lelum, and three projects under the Vancouver Island Health Authority.
The decision to extend funding comes amid concerns over the diversion of prescribed alternatives, such as hydromorphone, to the illegal drug supply. In February 2025, the B.C. government announced an overhaul of its safe supply program, transitioning to a witnessed consumption model to ensure the medications are being used as intended.
Premier David Eby acknowledged that the previous approach around prescribed alternatives "was not working," leading to the implementation of these new measures. The province aims to continue working with public health experts, people with lived experience, and Indigenous communities to keep people alive, get them into treatment, and help them rebuild their lives.
