BSc (Hons), MD, FRCPC, CISAM, CCSAM
Keynote: Compulsory treatment in Addiction: does it work?
Bio
Dr. Robert Tanguay is a psychiatrist with dual fellowships in Addiction Medicine and Pain Medicine. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Surgery at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. He currently serves as the Senior Medical Director, Addiction Services, for Recovery Alberta, and is the co-founder and co-developer of Alberta’s Community Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinics, where he continues to practice clinically.
Dr. Tanguay is a member of the Calgary Police Commission, providing leadership on budget, governance, and policy to support effective and accountable policing. Nationally, he serves as Co-Chair of the Western Canadian Addiction Forum and Chair of the Canadian Addiction Council, and is a founding director of the Canadian Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.
He has played a significant role in health and addiction policy in Alberta and beyond. Dr. Tanguay helped lead both the Alberta Psychedelic Legislative Committee and the Alberta Safe Supply Legislative Committee, and was a member of the Alberta Recovery Expert Advisory Panel, directly advising the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction. He previously served on the Public Health Emergencies Governance Review Panel, the Supervised Consumption Review Committee, and has provided expert testimony to the Oregon State Senate, the Alberta Legislature, and the Parliament of Canada as part of international and national policy advisory efforts.
Dr. Tanguay’s contributions have been recognized with numerous honours, including the Royal College Early Career Leadership Award, induction into the University of Lethbridge Alumni Honour Society, the University of Calgary Department of Psychiatry Keith Pierce Award for Innovation, the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, and the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
An active academic and educator, Dr. Tanguay has delivered more than 170 invited, plenary, and keynote presentations across three continents on addiction, pain, mental health, and public policy. He has secured nearly $10 million in operational and research funding. His research focuses on trauma, addiction, chronic pain, opioids, cannabis, and psychedelics. He is a member of both the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education at the University of Calgary.