The BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) has reported a concerning spike in drug poisonings, with a record-breaking number of incidents in a single day last month.
On January 21, BCEHS documented 256 cases of poisoning, surpassing the previous record of 222 set on November 19, 2025.
Throughout 2025, paramedics attended almost 40,000 overdose calls across the province, averaging 108 poisonings per day. This marks a slight decrease of two percent compared to the previous year.
In 2024, there were over 3,000 incidents within six months and more than 4,000 cases over a three-month period.
Notably, the highest number of overdoses was recorded in 2023, totaling 42,172 cases.
Since the B.C. government declared the toxic drug crisis a public health emergency in 2016, BCEHS has observed a significant 105 percent rise in annual poisoning events.