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Alberta

Province to spend $92 million over next three years to provide mental health treatment for youth

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Expanding mental health treatment for youth

Alberta’s government is partnering with CASA Mental Health to expand youth mental health supports to ensure youth across Alberta can access treatment closer to home.

Supporting children and youth who are struggling with mental health is an essential part of Alberta’s recovery-oriented system of mental health and addiction care. If passed, Budget 2023 would invest $92 million over three years to provide critical mental health supports for children and youth in partnerships with CASA Mental Health.

This $92-million investment would include capital and operating funding for two new inpatient CASA House sites in Fort McMurray and Calgary, expanding youth day treatment programs provincially, and the rollout of new mental health classrooms across Alberta.

“Every young person in Alberta deserves the opportunity to access treatment and improve their mental health. If passed, Budget 2023 will dramatically increase access to mental health supports for youth to help families in crisis and provide kids with opportunities to improve their mental health across Alberta.”

Danielle Smith, Premier

“Our goal is to ensure that every young person in Alberta is supported in their pursuit of improved mental health. In partnership with CASA Mental Health, we’re expanding a range of treatment options for youth and their families that includes mental health supports in schools, day treatment programs and new inpatient programs to meet the diverse needs of youth in Alberta.”

Nicholas Milliken, Minister of Mental Health and Addiction

Supporting young Albertans with mental health challenges

With this funding, high-intensity services for children and youth will be delivered in community settings, reducing the need for hospital stays. CASA Mental Health will expand four programs that will help more than 700 additional young Albertans every year.

  • CASA House (for youth in grades 7 to 12): A live-in program for youth where parents and caregivers are still active participants in treatment, but the youth lives at a CASA facility. Treatment includes individual, group and family therapy, social and life skills training, and on-site schooling in small classroom settings.
  • Adolescent Day Treatment Program (for youth in grades 8 to 12): A daily program where youth with a mental illness diagnosis who are struggling in a conventional classroom setting can complete their schooling at a CASA facility while receiving ongoing support, including group, family and individual therapy.
  • CASA Mental Health Classrooms (for children and youth in grades 4 to 12): A classroom-based program where students with complex mental health needs receive individual and group therapy. Students are supported by a team of mental health professionals, including a therapist, psychiatrist and behavioural specialist.
  • CASA Core (for children and youth aged three to 17): Community-based services where families are matched with the appropriate level of service dependent on the complexity of mental health challenges. Therapy incorporates the child’s family, school and community network in treatment.

“CASA Mental Health recognizes a need for increased service to the ‘missing middle’ of mental health, particularly over the last few years. We see a growing need to provide specialized service to children and youth with mental illness, requiring more than low-intensity community-based services, but less than intensive hospital services. We’re pleased to partner with Alberta’s government to help close that gap and make mental health programming available and accessible to more children and families throughout the province.”

Bonnie Blakley, chief executive officer, CASA Mental Health

Alberta’s government is continuing to build a recovery-oriented system of care, where everyone struggling with addiction and mental health challenges is supported in their pursuit of recovery. This includes dramatically increasing access to mental health supports for children and youth focused on prevention and early intervention, including the creation of new mental health classrooms, expanding access to digital supports like 211 Alberta and Kids Help Phone, investing in affordable virtual and in-person counselling, and establishing youth mental health hubs across the province.

“CASA Mental Health is a leader in delivering youth-centred mental health services. This organization plays an important role in the Sherwood Park community, and this new partnership with Alberta’s government will help broaden their reach to support children and youth across our province.”

Jordan Walker, MLA for Sherwood Park

“Children in this province deserve the best care possible, and this funding reflects our government’s commitment to delivering on this promise. I’ve seen first-hand the difference CASA Mental Health makes in the lives of youth in our community, and expanding these services means more families will get the help they need and deserve.”

Nate Glubish, MLA for Strathcona-Sherwood Park

Budget 2023 secures Alberta’s bright future by transforming the health-care system to meet people’s needs, supporting Albertans with the high cost of living, keeping our communities safe and driving the economy with more jobs, quality education and continued diversification.

Alberta

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith Media Roundtable from Washington

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From the YouTube channel of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith

Members of the media join Premier Danielle Smith for a round table on January 21, 2025.

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Alberta

Is There Any Canadian Province More Proud of their Premier Today…

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Prior to Trumps inauguration event and announcement was made that Trump would not be imposing the 25% tariffs…

Which means, Canada seriously dodged a bullet here.

And while the Liberals will most likely frame this as, their success in showing, Bad Orange Man, that they’re tough and ready to burn down what is left of our economy, throwing Alberta under the bus, first…through a nuclear option…

Premier Smith rode this challenge out like the true champion we knew that she would be.

It’s hard to say if this was a legality matter in the grander scheme…or if the 25% tariffs would have truly been as big of an impact on the US…

One thing is clear, however…

Smith was ready to go to the tables with the Trump administration and opt for diplomacy over threats…which should be what we expect from our leaders.

And should these 25% tariffs have gone through…I’m more than sure a Plan B would have been brought out in civil conversations, over screeching rhetoric.

“She’s treasonous”, they screeched.

“She’s supporting her friends in Oil and Gas”, they relent.

“She should put Canada first”, they echo…

And let’s just address these…

Is Walmart beholden to Campbells soup? Fruit of the Loom? Kraft?

Or does Walmart sell products that helps keep their doors open?

Walmart is not beholden to any product…just like Premier Smith isn’t. We have 26% of our GDP – the largest portion – owed to Alberta O&G, something that we have a limited trade partner with, due to the Liberal – Anti-Alberta/Anti-O&G/Anti-Pipeline attitude that wants to spend us further in debt with unreliable and expensive “Renewables”.

What does Alberta get from renewables?

A higher cost for energy, in an affordability crisis, created by the same people who continue to push them…sounds like a terrible deal, for Albertans, and something a true leader would Not Favor.


When Walmart sits down to hash out a deal with Heinz, are they committing treason because they haven’t shown their allegiance to their own, ‘Great Value’ brand Ketchup?

No…other provinces have their own industries and resources, which they are free to continue developing independent of the federal government, as is suitable and supportive of their own economies…Alberta isn’t competing with them, nor Canada as a whole.

Alberta through industry and resource, actually supports Canada through a grand imbalance on “Equalization Payments”…

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As do we through paying 50% more into the Canada Pension Plan, than we actually get out of the Canada Pension Plan…to the tune of a $334 Billion Dollars.


And as for this “Team Canada”, horseshit…

The title Premier of Alberta, should hold some clues as to who Premier Smith should be advocating for…as she is the Premier of Alberta and Not the Prime Minister, nor leader in the Liberal Party that has created this fiasco, to begin with.

Rail, as they may…other provinces can’t cast a vote in her support, either way…

None of the other provinces, through Members of Parliament, nor through Premiers, came to support Alberta and our economy through a number of Federal Bills that railed on our provincial resources…

Worse yet…these hypocrites cash cheques from our province, while telling us how to diversify our economy…to which I’d state one thing unequivocally…

If we wanted to be a Have Not Province…like you are…we’ll come and ask you for your advice.

Until then…

I’ll hold my Alberta Flag Higher than my Canadian…

And be proud today, of having the only Premier in the country of Canada, worthy of any praise today!

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