Get them help
A door in every province — and a family's job is having the plan ready.
One truth up front so nothing below wastes your time: you cannot force an adult into treatment in Canada. Everything that does work is here, in plain language. We don't publish prices or facility phone numbers — those change, and quoting them would only mislead. When you want a person, we confirm the fit and make one warm introduction, only to someone you approve.
The publicly funded route — the family's way in
Every province funds addiction treatment like any other health care, and the provincial helplines talk to family members too. Call before your person is willing, so the plan and the number are ready the day a yes appears. The honest catch is the waiting list — which is why calling early matters.
CRAFT — the trained-family approach
The evidence-based alternative to the TV-style confrontation: many small conversations timed for sober moments, warmth kept on, every step toward help noticed and rewarded, and the natural costs of using allowed to land. It is slower than an ultimatum, and it moves far more people into treatment.
Withdrawal management (detox) first
For many substances the first door is medically supported withdrawal, not a residential bed. The provincial helplines know the current detox routes and what comes after — ask about the whole path, not just the first step.
Residential & inpatient programs
Private residential programs across Canada usually admit within days. What the money mostly buys is speed — admission while the yes is still warm — not better love or a guaranteed outcome. Many run family programs and family weekends alongside the clinical work.
Outpatient & virtual programs
Your person keeps living at home and often keeps working while attending counselling, groups, or day programs. Same-week assessment is common, and virtual delivery means distance is rarely the barrier it used to be.
Concurrent-disorders (dual) care
When depression, anxiety, or thoughts of self-harm ride alongside the addiction, coordinated care treats them together — not one after the other. If that's your family's picture, say so early; it changes which programs fit.
Family counselling & therapy
For the family's own recovery — when there's fear in your home, kids are absorbing the chaos, or your own health is sliding. A peer meeting holds you between weeks; a therapist works with your family's specific machinery. Both at once is common and wise.
Peer support for the family
Al-Anon for families of drinkers, Nar-Anon for families facing drugs, Families Anonymous and CoDA alongside them — free rooms full of people who have carried exactly this, in your town, this week. You don't have to say a word at your first one.
Support for the teens in the house
Alateen and Narateen are meetings specifically for young people affected by a family member's drinking or drug use, with trained adult members present. If your kids are living this too, they deserve their own room — and Kids Help Phone is there for them any hour.
The public front door, by province
Every province runs a free way in, and every one of these lines will talk to a family member before the person is ready. Call ahead of time, quietly, and have the map drawn before the conversation — that's the single most useful move a family can make.
Ontario
ConnexOntario
Free and confidential, open 24/7, and they talk to worried family members too — call 1-866-531-2600 before your person is willing, so the intake route and the waits are mapped before the conversation.
British Columbia
HealthLink BC — dial 811
Dial 811 any hour and ask for substance-use services in your health authority. Family members can call to get the lay of the land first; covered treatment costs $0, and the honest trade-off is the wait.
Alberta
211 Alberta
Dial 211, free and confidential around the clock, to find the public intake route nearest you. Have the plan ready before willingness peaks — the day a yes appears, you move the same day.
Québec
Info-Social — dial 811
Dial 811 to reach the public entry route, staffed around the clock in French and English. The consent rule is the same as everywhere in Canada: willingness can't be manufactured, only met quickly when it arrives.
In another province or territory? Every one has an equivalent public entry point — Health Canada keeps the national list at get help with substance use ↗, or ask us and we'll point you to the right door. The money conversation, honestly: public treatment costs $0 and the catch is the wait; private residential mostly buys speed — admission in days instead of weeks — not better love or a guaranteed outcome. No shame in either route.
Not sure which route fits your family?
That's the normal starting point. Read the step-by-step playbook, or let a navigator narrow it to the strongest fit and make one introduction — with your consent, and your loved one is only contacted the way you choose.
In crisis? Call or text 988, any hour, free.