Following a nationwide trend in de-institutionalization, British Columbia closes Tranquille

1985. In the second half of the 20th century, the focus of mental health care shifted from the institution to the community. Various factors led to the decline of mental hospitals in Canada after 1950, including “the establishment of public funding for health services, the promise of new therapies and therapeutic approaches, the advent of psychotropic drugs, and the rise of a critical patient rights movement” (Boschma, 2011, “Deinstitutionalization Reconsidered…”).

Another factor that led to the shift in mental health care was the changing perception of eugenics. Following the Second World War, eugenic ideas and policies were largely discredited, and this pushed for greater changes in mental health care. It also led to the repeal of British Columbia’s Sterilization Act in 1973. Following this trend toward de-institutionalization, British Columbia started to close some of its mental hospitals, including Tranquille. In 1959, Tranquille was converted from a tuberculosis sanitarium into a facility for those with developmental disabilities. It closed in 1985.

-Erna Kurbegovic

  • Boschma, G. (2011). Deinstitutionalization Reconsidered: Geographic and Demographic Changes in Mental Health Care in British Columbia and Alberta, 1950-1980. Social History, 44, 223-256.

  • BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services. (2013). History: BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services Timeline. BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services website. Retrieved from http://www.bcmhsus.ca/History.htm.

Following a nationwide trend in de-institutionalization, British Columbia closes Tranquille

1985. In the second half of the 20th century, the focus of mental health care shifted from the institution to the community. Various factors led to the decline of mental hospitals in Canada after 1950, including “the establishment of public funding for health services, the promise of new therapies and therapeutic approaches, the advent of psychotropic drugs, and the rise of a critical patient rights movement” (Boschma, 2011, “Deinstitutionalization Reconsidered…”).

Another factor that led to the shift in mental health care was the changing perception of eugenics. Following the Second World War, eugenic ideas and policies were largely discredited, and this pushed for greater changes in mental health care. It also led to the repeal of British Columbia’s Sterilization Act in 1973. Following this trend toward de-institutionalization, British Columbia started to close some of its mental hospitals, including Tranquille. In 1959, Tranquille was converted from a tuberculosis sanitarium into a facility for those with developmental disabilities. It closed in 1985.

-Erna Kurbegovic

  • Boschma, G. (2011). Deinstitutionalization Reconsidered: Geographic and Demographic Changes in Mental Health Care in British Columbia and Alberta, 1950-1980. Social History, 44, 223-256.

  • BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services. (2013). History: BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services Timeline. BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services website. Retrieved from http://www.bcmhsus.ca/History.htm.