Several provinces in Canada have seen a decline in apparent opioid-related deaths, according to new data from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA). This is not the case, however, in Quebec, where an upward trend is observed.
The data indicate that there was a 17 per cent decrease in apparent opioid-related deaths in 2024 in Canada compared to 2023. Despite this decline, the CCSA notes in a report that the number of deaths remains high across the country, with regional variations. Overall, there will be nearly 7,150 deaths in 2024, representing an average of 20 deaths per day.
The majority (80 per cent) of apparent opioid-related deaths occurred in British Columbia (2,299 deaths), Ontario (2,231 deaths), and Alberta (1,181 deaths).
Related:
Quebec ranks fourth with 645 deaths in 2024. This is more than double the number reported in 2022. In 2023, a total of 536 deaths were reported.
An increase in deaths between 2023 and 2024 is also observed in Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories. Trends in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island remain virtually unchanged.
In its report, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction notes that there has been a recent shift in the mode of consumption, moving from injection to inhalation in many regions. It specifies that the role of this shift in the decline in opioid-related deaths is uncertain.
In Thunder Bay, Ontario, the number of deaths related solely to substances consumed by inhalation has increased. In Quebec, there has also been an increase in the use of drugs through smoking/inhalation compared to injection.
—
The Canadian Press’s health coverage is supported by a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. The Canadian Press is solely responsible for this journalistic content.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
