A 75-bed addiction treatment centre on Enoch Cree Nation, just west of Edmonton, is finished. The first clients are expected in December.
The Enoch maskêkosihk Recovery Community will offer live-in addiction treatment at no cost to clients or their families. Treatment will combine clinical care with Cree teachings, ceremony and family connections.
The province announced the end of construction on Monday, Oct. 26.
Unlike most treatment centres, this one belongs to the community it serves. Enoch Cree Nation owns and manages it.
“Recovery is not only about healing the body,” said Chief Cody Thomas. “It is about healing the spirit, restoring connections to culture and family, and helping our people find hope and purpose again.”
What’s opening
75 beds
Room for up to 300 people a year
Stays of up to one year
No cost to clients or families
$35 million in provincial building money, plus ongoing operating funding
The centre will be run by Maskêkosihk Recovery Community Ltd. It will follow the Nation’s own priorities and governance along with the provincial model.
What a stay actually looks like
This isn’t a 28-day program. People can stay up to a year.
Across Alberta’s recovery communities, the province says clients get:
An individual care plan
Counselling
Medications for opioid addiction, known as opioid agonist treatment
Job training and employment help
Help with housing and finances
A peer mentor in the later stages of recovery
At Enoch, Indigenous approaches to healing will be part of all of that. Clients will take part in cultural teachings and ceremony and have time to reconnect with identity, family and community.
“Everyone who walks through these doors deserves to know they are valued, they belong, and they are not alone,” Thomas said.
Why it matters that the Nation runs it
In a project update this spring, Enoch Cree Nation said the centre is meant to address more than addiction. It’s also a response to the lasting effects of intergenerational trauma. The Nation said its approach is grounded in nehiyaw pimâtisiwin, a Cree way of life centred on balance, connection and wellness.
Culture isn’t meant to be an add-on here. It’s part of the treatment.
The recovery centre is one of several big projects on the Nation. Enoch has also been building a new medical facility with a pharmacy and a surgical clinic. And near River Cree Resort, it’s planning a large Indigenous thermal spa with outdoor pools, saunas and steam rooms, set to open in 2028.
“The maskêkosihk Recovery Community is hope made tangible,” said Rajan Sawhney, Alberta’s Minister of Indigenous Relations.
Who can go?
The centre will serve Indigenous people and others in the Edmonton region.
Across Alberta, recovery communities generally take people who:
Are 18 or older
Live in Alberta
Have serious substance use that makes it hard to work, go to school or take part in community life
Don’t need hospital or crisis care
Can manage daily living activities
Can communicate in English, for safety reasons
Each centre runs its own admissions, and rules can vary.
Enoch hasn’t published its intake process or contact number yet. Since the first clients aren’t expected until December, check with the operator before making plans.
Third of five Indigenous-led centres
Enoch is the third of five recovery communities Alberta is building with Indigenous partners:
| Recovery community | Status |
|---|---|
| Blood Tribe (near Cardston) | Opened April 2026 |
| Siksika Nation | Opened August 2026, first clients expected November |
| Enoch Cree Nation | Construction complete, first clients expected December |
| Tsuut’ina Nation | In development |
| Métis Crossing (with the Métis Nation of Alberta) | In development |
Together, the five will cost about $180 million to build. Budget 2026 sets aside almost $30 million a year to run them. When all five are open, they’ll add more than 375 beds and serve up to 1,500 people a year.
Alberta’s 11 recovery communities
Enoch is part of the province’s plan to build 11 recovery communities. Six are now listed as open:
Red Deer
Lethbridge
Lakeview, in Gunn
Calgary
Blood Tribe
Siksika Nation
Still to come are centres in Edmonton and Grande Prairie, plus the Indigenous-led sites at Enoch, Tsuut’ina and Métis Crossing. The Edmonton centre is tied to work at Alberta Hospital Edmonton.
The centres are the heart of the Alberta Recovery Model, which puts treatment and long-term recovery at the centre of the province’s response to addiction. Some harm-reduction advocates have questioned whether that leaves enough support for people who aren’t ready or able to go into treatment. The province says recovery communities give Albertans access to long-term treatment many couldn’t otherwise afford.
“Recovery is possible, and every new recovery community means more people can access the support they need to reclaim their lives from addiction,” said Rick Wilson, Minister of Mental Health and Addiction.
Three years in the making
The province and Enoch Cree Nation first announced the project in April 2023. Construction was well underway by September 2025.
Enoch sits along Edmonton’s western edge, off Anthony Henday Drive, so people from the city and the region can get long-term treatment close to home.
How to get help now
You don’t have to wait for Enoch to open.
211 Alberta: call or text 2-1-1 to get connected to addiction treatment and other support in your community. It’s free and confidential.
Virtual Opioid Dependency Program: call 1-844-383-7688 for same-day addiction medicine support, including opioid treatment.
Other recovery communities: each takes its own applications. Contact details are on Alberta.ca’s recovery communities page.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.
Sources
Government of Alberta, “Recovery community completed in Enoch Cree Nation,” Oct. 26, 2026: https://www.alberta.ca/news
Government of Alberta, Recovery communities: https://www.alberta.ca/recovery-communities
Government of Alberta, Alberta Recovery Model: https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-recovery-model
Enoch Cree Nation, maskêkosihk Recovery Community project update, April 2026: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/enoch-cree-nation-provides-project-update-on-maskekosihk-recovery-community-829092055.html
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