Why Canada Needs Recovery Coaches Now More Than Ever
The ringing phone slices through the silence at 7 a.m.
A father in Kamloops can’t reach his son who is “spiralling again” in his addiction.
Every door he knocks on says:
No room.
Try back next week.
He’s not “sick enough” yet.
The waitlist is four months.
Dad has run out of ideas and doesn’t want a diagnosis. He wants someone to show up. To care. To walk beside his son through the foggy minefield of recovery.
That’s what recovery coaches do. And in Canada, we don’t have nearly enough of them.
The Gap No One’s Filling
One in five Canadians — more than six million people — meet the criteria for a substance use disorder (SUD), according to Health Canada’s 2023 Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP) report.¹
Addiction is everywhere: in boardrooms and on park benches, in downtown cores and rural towns, behind locked bathroom doors and schoolyard fences. Yet for many Canadians, help is delayed, clinical systems are over capacity, and treatment options can be hard to access — especially without privilege, patience, or persistence.
A 2023 Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) review found that treatment access across provinces is fragmented, and people often wait weeks — sometimes months — to receive care, if they get it at all.²
Recovery coaches step into that gap.
What Makes Recovery Coaching Different?
We’re not therapists.
We’re not case managers.
We’re not here to diagnose, label, or fix.
We’re trained professionals who walk with people in recovery — wherever they are, however they define it.
In early chaos. In long-term rebuild. In recurrence and return.
We believe in multiple pathways: abstinence, harm reduction, medication-assisted treatment, 12-step, or something entirely their own.
We bring connection to a system built on transactions.
We build trust in a world that’s taught people to expect judgment.
We help people believe they’re worth helping.
Why Now?
Because the opioid crisis continues to devastate communities — over 7,300 opioid toxicity deaths occurred in Canada in 2022 alone.[¹]
Because alcohol remains the most commonly used and misused substance across all age groups.
Because the system wasn’t built for today’s volume or complexity — and people are dying while waiting for help.
There’s a moment — between “I can’t do this anymore” and “I’m ready to change” — when someone needs to be there.
Not with a form or a file. With presence.
Recovery coaches live in that moment.
Building a National Network
At Recovery Coaches Canada, we’re not just growing a movement — we’re building a framework:
Professional standards
Ethical standards
A professional credential
A connected professional network
Spaces for collaboration and real-time support
Job postings and referrals
Recovery is possible. Coaching makes it closer. Coaching makes it human.
If You’re Reading This, We’d Like to Hear From You
If you’re a policymaker trying to plug the holes in the system…
If you’re a coach looking for professional community…
If you’re someone who’s been told “not yet” too many times…
We’re here. We’re growing. And we’re not waiting for permission.
Recovery coaching is here. Canada needs it. The time is now.
Sources:
Health Canada. Substance Use and Addictions in Canada: SUAP Overview Report, 2023.
Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA). Navigating Recovery in Canada: Barriers and Gaps in Accessing Substance Use Treatment Services, 2023.
