National health data released Wednesday shows overdose deaths in Canada dropped in 2024 but the toll still remained much higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
A joint statement from the country’s chief medical officers of health, chief coroners and chief medical examiners said 7,146 people died of opioid-related overdoses between January and December 2024.
That’s down from 8,623 deaths in 2023 but much higher than the 3,742 deaths reported in 2019, according to data on the Public Health Agency of Canada’s website.
The statement said an average of 20 people a day died in 2024 from apparent opioid toxicity.
The statement noted that the national numbers “mask important regional differences,” with Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Northwest Territories reporting a rise in opioid-related deaths in 2024.
The number of people who died decreased in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick and Yukon and stayed about the same in Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
There was no data available for Nunavut.
Many Indigenous communities saw an increase in opioid-related deaths, especially among women, between 2023 and 2024 “due to colonialization and continued marginalization,” the statement said.
“The overdose crisis, driven by a toxic illegal drug supply, is one of the most serious public health crises our country has ever faced.”
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Some provinces and territories that had fewer deaths in 2024 attributed the drop, at least partly, to “a shift to lower toxicity of the drug supply, based on drug-checking data indicating a decrease in fentanyl concentrations,” the statement said.
Eighty per cent of the opioid toxicity deaths took place in British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta. Yukon, Alberta and Manitoba were all hard-hit on a per-capita basis, with 20 or more deaths per 100,000 population, according to the PHAC report.
Seventy-one per cent of the deaths were among males.
Fentanyl was involved in 74 per cent of the opioid toxicity deaths. Seventy per cent of opioid toxicity deaths also involved a stimulant.
Stimulant drugs can include cocaine, methamphetamine and prescription drugs such as amphetamines.
In addition to deaths, there were 5,514 hospitalizations; 36,266 ambulance responses and 24,587 emergency department visits due to suspected opioid-related drug toxicity across Canada in 2024, the report said.
Those numbers were all about 15 per cent lower than what was seen in 2023.
“We recognize that the data in this report may represent stories of pain, grief, and trauma. This report cannot adequately reflect the burden borne by Canadians,” the agency said on its website.
“We acknowledge all those impacted by substance use, and those who work to save lives and reduce substance-related harms on individuals and communities.”
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