Emergency department visits for youth mental health crises in Calgary have increased by 40% over the past year, according to new data from Alberta Health Services, prompting urgent calls for expanded community-based mental health services for young people. The data, covering the 12-month period ending January 2026, shows that Calgary-area emergency departments saw approximately 4,200 visits by patients aged 12-24 for acute mental health concerns, up from roughly 3,000 in the previous year.
The most common presentations include suicidal ideation, severe anxiety, self-harm, and psychotic episodes. Clinicians say the increase reflects both a genuine rise in youth mental health distress and a lack of community-based alternatives that could intervene before crises reach the emergency department stage.
A System Under Strain
Dr. Katrina Faber, a psychiatrist at the Alberta Children's Hospital, said the numbers are alarming but not surprising. "We have been seeing this trend building for several years, and the system simply does not have the capacity to meet the demand," Faber said. "Our emergency departments are not designed to be the front door for mental health care, but for many young people and their families, they have become the only option."
Wait times for community-based child and adolescent mental health services in Calgary currently average 14-18 weeks, according to AHS data. For specialized services such as eating disorder treatment or early psychosis intervention, waits can exceed six months. During that time, families are often left without support, and conditions that might have been manageable with early intervention can escalate to crisis.
Calls for Action
Mental health advocacy organizations are calling on the provincial government to make youth mental health a funding priority. The Canadian Mental Health Association's Calgary chapter has proposed a network of walk-in youth mental health clinics modelled on Ontario's successful Youth Wellness Hubs, which offer same-day access to counselling, peer support, and psychiatric assessment without a referral.
"We know what works — early intervention, accessible community-based services, and school-based mental health supports," said CMHA Calgary CEO Sara Morgan. "What we lack is the funding to implement these models at the scale our city needs." The Alberta government said it is reviewing the data and considering options for expanded youth mental health programming. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction said the province has invested $58 million in youth mental health services over the past two years but acknowledged that "more work needs to be done."