Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s plan to shut down overdose prevention and supervised consumption sites across Canada is drawing sharp criticism from public health experts, who warn it could lead to a rise in preventable deaths and a likely legal showdown.
During a campaign stop in New Westminster, B.C., Poilievre vowed to close what he called “drug dens,” denouncing harm-reduction programs as ineffective and instead promising a $1 billion recovery-based strategy. His party’s platform proposes not renewing Health Canada’s exemption for overdose prevention sites (OPS), which would effectively shut down many such locations when it expires in September.
Dr. M-J Milloy of the B.C. Centre on Substance Use, who helped evaluate North America’s first supervised consumption site, called the move irresponsible and dangerous. “I can’t fathom why any politician who wants to lead this country would close one of the few effective interventions we have in the midst of one of the worst public health crises of our generation,” Milloy said. He pointed to peer-reviewed research showing that OPS and supervised consumption services reduce syringe-sharing, increase addiction treatment uptake, and dramatically lower overdose deaths.
Supervised consumption sites (SCS), while more regulated than OPS, are also under threat in the Conservative plan, which includes new rules like mandatory user registration and restrictions banning them within 500 metres of schools, daycares, parks, playgrounds, or seniors’ homes. According to Milloy, similar rules implemented in Ontario led to a wave of closures and a constitutional challenge. The Supreme Court of Canada has previously upheld the right to operate supervised sites, and experts suggest any federal effort to close them could end in a legal fight.
Health Canada has confirmed that it does not directly fund supervised consumption or overdose prevention sites, though some may apply for grants. The Conservative platform has been vague on which specific facilities would be defunded, though it promises to “shut down federal drug dens.”
Critics have argued the plan ignores decades of research, including a study published in The Lancet that found fatal overdoses dropped by 35 per cent near Vancouver’s Insite — Canada’s first supervised site — after its opening, compared to just nine per cent across the rest of the city. Despite thousands of overdoses occurring at such facilities across Canada, there has not been a single recorded death at any supervised site since they began operating more than two decades ago.
Conservative claims that such sites increase public disorder and do not save lives stand in contrast with findings from Canadian and global researchers. Poilievre has referenced U.S. studies suggesting there is no “gold-standard” clinical evidence that SCS facilities lower long-term overdose risk for individuals. However, Milloy argues that using that standard in this context is misleading, as controlled trials for supervised drug use would be ethically unjustifiable. “The best available medical evidence suggests that these sites keep people alive,” he said.
There are currently 39 supervised consumption sites across Canada. Since 2017, Health Canada reports that more than 62,000 overdoses have been reversed at these locations. Still, Poilievre maintains that the country must pivot fully toward recovery, citing the more than 50,000 lives lost to overdose in recent years. His plan includes investments in detox centres, job training, and transitional housing.
Poilievre has gained endorsements for his approach from figures like Julian Somers of Simon Fraser University and Michael Gendron of the Canadian Police Association, who stressed the need for evidence-based treatment programs and additional rehab spaces. But critics like Milloy fear that by cutting existing life-saving measures, more people may die before they ever have the chance to recover.