Coroner releases stats of northern Ontario deaths related to hypothermia, with Kenora district top of the list
CBC
The Ontario Coroner’s office said hypothermia was a factor in the deaths of 37 people across northern Ontario between 2022 and 2024, with the Kenora district losing the highest proportion of people.
In response to a request from CBC, the coroner said sixteen people died during those three years in the region covering Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout and surrounding areas.
Nine people died in the Sudbury district, five in Thunder Bay, three in the Cochrane district and two each in Algoma and Nipissing districts.
The coroner did not share other factors in the deaths, or give any ages, or locations of the deaths.
It’s a number that the public health physician for the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA) says warrants closer scrutiny.
It provides service to 33 First Nations in northwestern Ontario where about 40,000 people live.
Dr. Lloyd Douglas said the numbers are a starting point for further investigation into who is vulnerable.
“We're gonna take a deeper dive and then, try to understand with regards to the population who is overrepresented or who is represented in the data that we're finding,” he said. “We are going to, over time, follow this and try to better understand what's happening. But already we know that with regards to First Nations, there are health inequities.”
Already in 2026, Douglas said he had visited a fly-in First Nation where a beloved elder was found outside in the cold, but could not be revived at the nursing station, and passed away.
He said the numbers in the Kenora District may be associated with certain factors and isolation and remoteness could heighten the risks.
“First Nations face poor health outcomes due to poor underlying social determinants of health, corporate determinants of health,” he said.
“Going back to hypothermia, if, for example, the home is not properly insulated or individuals who are struggling with poverty and food insecurity, are making the choice between, do I eat or do I pay for heat. Those are real struggles facing First Nations individuals, those who are living both in community and also those who are living in small towns across the region, Sioux Lookout, Dryden and even in other areas.”
Advocates in the region are also making a link among homelessness, mental health, substance use and stretched resources in the district.
Marlene Elder is with the volunteer group Kenora Moving Forward, which provides a warming space in St. Alban’s Church, along with food and advocacy for people.
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