Alberta commits $16M to revamp family violence support services

New funding streams target maintenance, regional grants, and agencies working outside shelters.

Alberta commits $16M to revamp family violence support services Published 2:36 pm Tuesday, July 14, 2026 The Alberta government has announced $16 million in new funding to support family violence services programs across the province. In a July 14 media scrum in Calgary, Searle Turton, minister of Children and Family Services, announced that $15 million of new funding would be distributed through three new streams in the Emergency Family Violence Services program.

“Family violence response looks different in every community and we want to ensure that the supports and services available reflect those unique needs,” Turton said. “These investments will enable agencies to work together, improve emergency shelter facilities and expand services to better meet the evolving needs of vulnerable Albertans.” Turton announced that as the program changes, the province is following stakeholder feedback and introducing the changes slowly.

In addition, of the announced funding, about $700,000 has been budgeted as transition funding to assist shelters that have had their operational funding cut in 2026. For the three new streams of funding being introduced, the province has budgeted more than $5 million in funding to support agencies working outside of shelters that support victims of family violence. Another $6 million has been budgeted to provide one-time grant funding through a Regional Collaboration and Innovation Grant, which the province says will enable organizations to provide more targeted survivor support.

The final $4 million is being budgeted as a three-year Facility Grant Program to allow organizations to address urgently needed maintenance and upgrades. According to the release accompanying the media scrum, the traditional women’s shelters will remain “a vital part of the system,” but also expand available services across the province, reaching more people “at home.” The applications for the new funding streams will open in September, with the grant programs expected to be fully in place by the spring of 2027.

Alberta supports 31 emergency shelters, 19 second-stage shelters and five fee-for-service shelters in First Nations communities and through the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters.