Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence

What Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence does

The Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE) is a Crown corporation established by the Alberta Government in June 2024 under the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence Act and housed within the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, CoRE operates as a research, program evaluation, and policy advisory body focused on data-driven analysis of mental health and addiction recovery systems. Its core work involves evaluating the effectiveness of the Alberta Recovery Model, maintaining a data repository with linked administrative health and social services data, producing peer-reviewed publications, and providing expert guidance to government, healthcare organizations, and global policymakers. Outputs include Advisory Reports, Academic Journals, Mental Health and Addiction Briefs, Research and Guidance documents, Conference Presentations, and applied research initiatives such as the province-wide Alberta Mental Health and Substance Use Survey (in collaboration with the University of Calgary) and the Recovery-Friendly Workplaces Program.

CoRE's customers are primarily Alberta provincial government bodies — notably the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction, Alberta Health Services, Recovery Alberta (the sister service-delivery organization launched alongside CoRE), and Alberta Correctional Health Services — alongside international policymakers engaging through entities such as the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Compassionate Intervention Expert Group. The organization is led by CEO Kym Kaufmann (former Deputy Minister of Mental Health and Community Wellness in Manitoba), Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Nathaniel Day (addiction medicine specialist and creator of the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program), Chief Information Officer Mahmoud Azimaee, and a small executive team. CoRE's underlying technology is not a proprietary software platform; it is a data and analytics capability centered on linked administrative health data analysis with Provincial Health Number linkage, paired with publication and advisory workflows.

CoRE does not generate commercial revenue and does not charge for its services. Its funding is a $5 million establishment grant from the Government of Alberta through Budget 2024, with a structurally mandated prohibition on industry funding and government interference in research design, data analysis, or publication decisions. The go-to-market is therefore not commercial sales; it is direct government advisory, academic publication, conference engagement, and thought leadership aimed at informing recovery-oriented policy in Alberta, nationally, and internationally.

Name

Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence

Legal name

Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence

Website

https://recoveryexcellence.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CoRE is an Alberta provincial Crown corporation that conducts research, program evaluation, and policy advisory work on mental health and addiction recovery systems, serving the Government of Alberta, healthcare organizations, and global policymakers through data analysis and peer-reviewed publications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: CoRE is a Crown corporation funded by the Government of Alberta under the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction. The Alberta government committed $5 million through Budget 2024 to support the establishment of CoRE. The organization is explicitly stated to not receive any industry funding. The funder has no role in study design, data analysis, interpretation of results, manuscript preparation, or decisions to submit work for publication.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CoRE is a Crown corporation that conducts research, program evaluation, and data analysis on mental health and addiction recovery systems in Alberta. It provides expert policy advice and publishes advisory reports, academic journal articles, and briefs to inform government, healthcare organizations, employers, and global stakeholders. The organization maintains a linked administrative health data repository to support evidence-based recommendations for the Alberta Recovery Model.

Product overview

The Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE) is a Crown corporation that provides research, evaluation, and advisory services rather than a traditional technology product. Its portfolio consists of research and evaluation services for mental health and addiction recovery, data analytics capabilities, expert policy guidance, and various publications including advisory reports, academic journals, research briefs, and conference presentations. Key offerings include the Alberta Recovery Model analysis, the Alberta Mental Health and Substance Use Survey initiative, and the Recovery-Friendly Workplaces Program. These services inform government policy and support the development of recovery-oriented systems of care.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research and Evaluation Services Core service conducting research to improve and build upon recovery-focused systems of care and executing evaluation of policies, programs, and services within the mental health and addiction system; offered to government bodies and healthcare organizations.
• Data and Analytics Core service maintaining a top-tier data repository to analyze datasets from various sources and linking data across health and social services to evaluate programs; provides system performance metrics and outcome insights to government and healthcare stakeholders.
• Expert Advice and Guidance Core service providing expert guidance to government bodies, healthcare organizations, and global leaders on effective recovery-focused mental health and addiction programs, including practical policy recommendations, clinical practice guidelines, and quality standards.
• Alberta Mental Health and Substance Use Survey A province-wide survey conducted in collaboration with the University of Calgary to understand the mental health and substance use experiences of Albertans, targeting approximately 14,000 randomly selected households.
• Recovery-Friendly Workplaces Program Guidance document promoting practical initiatives to foster recovery-friendly workplace environments for employers, employees, and occupational medicine practitioners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Drug related deaths within one year of release from Alberta correctional facilities declined by 67% from 2021 to 2023 following implementation of the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program partnership
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Compassionate Intervention Expert Group (CIEG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Led by CoRE's Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Nathaniel Day, CIEG brings together 11 renowned world-class experts in addiction medicine, psychiatry, law, public policy, Indigenous health, recovery science and evaluation from leading institutions across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom to develop recommendations for evaluating Alberta's Compassionate Intervention program.
• University of CalgarycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026CoRE is conducting a province-wide Alberta Mental Health and Substance Use Survey in collaboration with the University of Calgary. Beginning in Spring 2026, approximately 14,000 randomly selected households will receive invitations to participate. The survey aims to understand mental health and substance use experiences of Albertans.
• Dr. Charl Els and Dr. Sebastian StraubecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CoRE announced a research partnership with occupational health experts Dr. Charl Els and Dr. Sebastian Straube to develop a series of best practice guidance documents to foster sustained recovery in the workplace. This partnership has produced research on recovery-friendly workplaces, cannabis impairment, and clinical monitoring guidance published in peer-reviewed journals.
• Occupational and Environmental Medical Association of Canada (OEMAC)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CoRE collaborated with Dr. Charl Els and OEMAC to publish the position paper 'Cannabis in Safety-Sensitive Industries,' endorsed by OEMAC and published for peer review in Comprehensive Clinical Medicine.
• Recovery AlbertacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Recovery Alberta is a sister organization launched alongside CoRE in 2024, responsible for providing mental health and addiction services to the public. While CoRE focuses on research, data analysis, and policy recommendations, Recovery Alberta delivers direct services. The two organizations work collaboratively on Alberta's recovery-oriented system of care.
• CyberAlbertasupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024CoRE partners with CyberAlberta on initiatives related to mental health and addiction recovery systems and data analysis.
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024CoRE collaborates with the RCMP on mental health and addiction initiatives, including partnerships allowing addiction screening and treatment to begin before individuals arrive at provincial correctional facilities.
• Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022The partnership between Correctional Health Services and the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program has transformed access to opioid addiction treatment for people in provincial correctional facilities. People entering Alberta's provincial correctional centres can now access treatment for opioid use disorder in less than one day. The collaboration uses an innovative approach where correctional staff screen people for OUD upon intake and medications can be prescribed virtually without lengthy delays.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC): Federally funded mental health policy and research organization. Directly comparable as a government-mandated body providing national-level mental health strategy, research synthesis, and policy recommendations like CoRE.
• British Columbia Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU): Provincial research center providing clinical guidance, education, and policy advice on substance use in BC. Parallel to CoRE's provincial role in Alberta for clinical guidelines and program evaluation.
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH): Canada's largest mental health and addiction hospital and research center. Both organizations operate at the intersection of research, policy advice, and clinical guidance for addiction and mental health systems transformation.
• Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES): Ontario's health data research institute with linked administrative health data analytics. CoRE's CIO came from ICES, and CoRE's data repository for PHN-linked health analysis mirrors ICES's model of program evaluation using administrative data.
• Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA): Canada's national addictions policy advisor funded by Health Canada. Directly comparable to CoRE as a federally backed research and policy advisory body on substance use, providing similar data-driven, evidence-based recommendations to government and the public.

Broad incumbents

• Public Health Ontario: Government agency providing scientific evidence and public health guidance. Similar crown-corporation-style structure to CoRE with research, data analytics, and policy advisory functions for health system improvement.
• Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH): National agency providing evidence-based advice on drugs, medical devices, and health system optimization. Comparable to CoRE's broader mandate of evidence-based health policy evaluation and advisory services to government.
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): US federal agency leading research on drug use and addiction. Analogous to CoRE's focus on addiction science, recovery-oriented systems research, and policy guidance at a national scale.
• UK Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID): UK government body providing public health evidence, policy advice, and program evaluation. Comparable to CoRE's role in providing evidence-based public health policy recommendations to government.

Others

• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC): Canadian federal research funding agency supporting social science and policy research. Comparable as a Canadian government mechanism funding research and evaluation efforts, though operating as a funding body rather than direct evaluator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RecovExcel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/canadian-centre-of-recovery-excellence

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence